Progressive Delegates Objected to the Income Tax Hikes Too
As Republican delegates railed against the proposed state income tax hike Wednesday afternoon, a lone freshman Democrat from one of the most liberal and affluent districts inside the Capital Beltway got up to explain why she too could not vote for the taxes. “I believe this discriminates against two-income families with children at home,” said Del. Ariana Kelly, a Bethesda mom with two young children at home. The State and Local Revenue and Financing Act raises state income tax rates by .25% to .50% for joint returns with more than $150,000 in Maryland taxable income — a 5% to 15% increase in the rate. And the law reduces personal exemptions for these couples, totally eliminating them for couples with more than $200,000 in federal adjusted gross income. This raises both state taxes and the local piggyback income tax. “We are not talking about people sitting on great piles of money,” Kelly said. “Kids are extremely expensive.̶…