The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1952-01-17
The Maryland
Income Tax Law

lThi4 IS the second of a series of articles
released BY J. Willard Tawes, Comptr,ller Of
the Treasury. State Of Maryland. In this
article Mr.. fawes continues his discussion of
the Maryland Income Tax Law.
In our first installment we set forth
the requirements for filing a return
TO the State of Maryland. Briefly
stated, when the gross income Of a
single person exceeds $1,000 or when
the combined gross income of husband
and wife living together exceeds s.
eco, return is to be filed When these
sums are exceeded return should be
filed even though the person may have
deductions and dependents sufficient
to require the paying Of no tax. With
respect to married persons it should
be borne in mind that it is the COM
bined gross income that determines
the requirements for filing the re
turn.
Tax Liability of Residents
The law imposes the tax on the en-
tire income Of resident. Thus if a
resident Of Maryland receives income
from employment outside of Mary
land or from sources without this
State, it must be included in the re-
turn.
Tax Liability of Non-Residents
A nonresident of this State is sub
ject to tax on income from Maryland
sources. Such sources include salary
or wages paid for services performed
within this State, income received from
trade, business or profession, carried
on within this State, ground rents and
rents and royalties from property To-
Gated within Maryland. The operation
Of a farm within Maryland is con
sidered the carrying on Of bushes
and persons who are not residents but
who own and operate farms within
Maryland come within the require
mcnts for filing returns to this State
Definition of Resident
The term PRESIDENT means an in
dividual domiciled in this State on the
last day of the taxable year, or one
who for more than six months of the
taxable year maintained a place of
abode here, whether domicied or no..
Domieile means a persons fixed or
permanent place Of abode. In this
connection one should not become con
fused with the laws having to do with
voting. Such laws are separate and
distinct from income tax laws and the
requirements usually differ. Whether
or not a person votes in Maryland is
not in itself controlling in determin-
ing whether or not he is domiciled
here for income tax purposes.
Allowable Personal Exemptions
The law provides personal exemp-
ton Of $1,000 for single persons or
for married persons not living with
spouse. Husband and wife living to-
gether are allowed a personal exemp-
ton of $4,000. An additional personal
exemption of 81 900 is allowed tax
payers or their spouses who have at
tanned the age of IS years or who are
blind within the degree set forth in
the law.
A credit Of $500 is allowed the tax
payer for each dependent; if the de-
pendent has attained the age Of IS
years, an additional credit of $500 is
allowed.
Definition of Dependent
The term dependent" means per
son related to the taxpayer. who had
a gross income of less than $500 dur
ing the year, and over half of whose
support for the taxable year was re-
ceived from the taxpayer. The de
pendent need not reside with the tax
payer but he must be a resident Of
the United States or Of a country con
tiguous to the United States. Differ
ing from the Federal Law in this
connection, the credit allowed for de-
pendents must be pro-rated when the
dependent is supported for a period
less than the full taxable year.
Head of Family
Under the Maryland law the status
head of family" still exists. The term
means an individual who maintains in
one household, one or more dependents
who come within the definition Of de-
pendent as set forth herein. This
status accords the taxpayer a per-
sonal exemption of $4,000. However,