Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-04
Lawmakers
Hit Proposal
By McKeIdin
BY GENE GOODWIN
Star STAFF Correspondent

met with explosive reaction by
Southern Maryland members Of
the General Assembly.
State Senator Joseph Matting-
| ly said. THE mans gone hog
wild"
And the statement by the st.
Marys County Senator was fairly
typical of what others from the
tobacco growing area encom.
passing Anne Arundel, st. Marys.
Charles, Calvert and Prince
Georges Counties were thinking.
Senate President Louis L. Gold
stein of Calvert and Louis N.
Phipps of Anne Arundel limited
they would prepare alternate pro-
posals involving an increase in
the sales tax.
/ The non-smoking Republican
Governor said last night he would
propose tobacco products levy
to balance the States budget for
next fiscal year.
Proposes other Levies
/ In addition to a 5-cent-per.
pack levy on cigarettes, his pro.
posal would place levies of:
I Two cents on each cigar cost.
ing at least z cents.
Three cents on the cigars in
the Is to 80 cent price range.
/ One cent on each 20 cents or
fraction thereof paid for smok-
ing or chewing tobacco.
The Federal Government new
levieS of 8 centS-a-pack tax on
cigarettes.
Gov. McKeldin proposed that
the State retain only two cents
OF the cigarette tax, one cent Of
the cigar tax and none of the
smoking and chewing tobacco
tax. This would give the State
about STA million annually.
The rest of the revenue from
the tobacco levies-totaling an
estimated $9.6 million annually
could be redistributed to Balti-
more city and the counties in
the same manner as the State
income tax.
The Governors tax proposal.
which will be put before the
Legislature when he presents his
proposed budget for the next
fiscal year later this month.
would automatically repeal the
local tobacco product taxes
levied in Baltimore City and
five Maryland counties.
Three Cent Tax
4 Baltimore City and Baltimore
County tax cigarettes at cents
a pack. Montgomery. Hartford,
Wicomico and Garrett Counties
charge 2 cents per pack. Carroll
County is authorized to levy Q
cigarette tax but has not yet
done so.
This would mean that, under
the Governors plan, Baltimore
City and County would receive
no additional revenue and the
other four tobacco-taxing coun-
ties would receive only about q
third more than they are now
realizing.
4 Montgomery County's tobacco
products tax is expected to raise
about 100000 in this fiscal year.
4 The Prince Georges County
Commissioners had requested
earlier that the Legislature this
time authorize a local tobacco
products tax similar to Mont
gomery's. Since they had esti-
mated that they would receive
about $500,000 annually from a
2-cent-per-pack cigarette tax.
the Governors plan probably
would give Prince Georges some.
thing in the neighborhood Of
$750.000.
Rejected in 1855
\ Maryland was one of seven
remaining States not taxing
cigarettes when the Northrop
Committee on Taxation and Fis-
cal Matters made its report in
1855. At that time IA States
were levying 5 cents or more per
pack. In 1855, Gov. McKeldin
rejected a Statewide tobacco
products tax as proposed by one
of his study commissions, stating
that since Maryland is a large
tobacco producer. I'VE are averse
to creating any hazards-if only
mental hazardS-for any part of
our economy"
:, Asked about that statement
last night, the Governor chuckled
and quoted this line from the
James Russell Lowell poem.
Present Crisis"
New occasions teach new
duties"
In his formal statement. he
expressed the hope that this
windfall to several of the
counties would be most USE
full in providing salary increases
for school teachers at the county
level, thus eliminating any ne
cessity for increasing basic
salaries provided from State
funds"
1T is felt" he added. that
constant pressure on the State
for greater contributions to
function which primarily is the
responsibility of the civciI divi-
sions tends to increase State
control over the city and county
public schools"
This statement was inter-
preted by observers as an OBJ
vious tip-off that the Governors
budget would not include the Sill
million worth of increases in
State teachers minimums re-
quested for the next fiscal year
lh,, tho Ctata pot. RI If EducatiOf1