Ehrlich passes the buck on taxes increases

This week on Ehrlich Radio, Bob Ehrlich tried to pass the buck on tax increases.

When asked by a listener whether the tax and fee hikes he implemented were implemented by the executive or required legislative approval, Ehrlich said, "we're really talking about two major ones," the flush tax and "transportation..and those were bills." Ehrlich conveniently didn't mention his biggest tax increase, the 58% increase in the property tax, which did not go through the legislature.

What Bob Ehrlich didn’t tell his listeners is that he approved two major tax increases without legislative approval, totaling over $1.4 billion.

In 2003, Ehrlich increased the property tax by a vote of the Board of Public Works. Ehrlich ended the practice of applying general fund revenue to debt service, and used the money that would have gone to debt service to help close the deficit.  This decision meant that the property tax rate had to rise to cover the missing money, so the Board raised the rate from 8.4 cents to 13.2 cents.

As The Baltimore Sun points out in a 2003 article:

“Ehrlich endorsed a move that would generate $187 million for state operations by forcing the Board of Public Works to increase Maryland's property tax rate by 5 cents per $100 in assessed property value.” (Baltimore Sun, “Tax boost in revised Ehrlich budget,” March 15, 2003)

In that same year, the Maryland Transportation Authority increased five tolls on Maryland highways, raising revenue by an estimated $100 million annually. The MTA is composed of the Secretary of Transportation (who chairs the body) and six members appointed with Senate advice and consent to three-year terms.  When it took the vote on the toll increases, the seven-member board was composed of three Ehrlich appointees (including Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan) and four Glendening appointees.  All seven supported the increase. This increase was not subject to legislative approval.

So Mr. Ehrlich, you can’t have it both ways either. You can’t say that you didn’t raise taxes when you admittedly raised fees and property taxes. It’s about time you start coming clean to your listeners.