Mar 25, 2008 9:36 pm US/Eastern
Governor Meets With Lawmakers On Tech Tax Repeal
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ―
Gov. Martin O'Malley met with lawmakers Tuesday to discuss ways of repealing a tax on computer services, but participants said they were still searching for a way to replace the lost revenue a repeal would cause.
Lawmakers discussed options for replacing the estimated $200 million the tax is estimated to generate.
Some possibilities that have been mentioned include a tax on high-income earners or using some of the $400 million approved for transportation in November's special session.
House Speaker Michael Busch, who attended the meeting, said there was a broad range of things being considered.
"I'm optimistic that I think that everybody is trying to work off the same page to do it -- the executive branch and both Houses," Busch told reporters after the meeting, which lasted about 50 minutes.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who also attended, described the meeting as "collegial."
"I think that there's a consensus that we need to move forward and find an alternative," Miller said. "The question is whether it's going to be another revenue source or it's going to be cuts or a combination of both."
Miller said all sides resolved to keep working on a way to replace the tax. He also said there is no consensus on an alternative at this time.
"Nothing is off the table," Miller said.
The tax has been controversial since it was passed in November's special session. Lobbyists have been pushing hard for a repeal all session, which has about two more weeks left.
Under the regulations, the tax would apply to computer facilities management and operations, custom computer programming, and computer system planning and designing that integrate computer hardware, software and communication technologies. It also would apply to computer disaster recovery, data processing, data storage, hardware and software installation, software maintenance and repair and Web services.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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