Another Tax Hike?

Kenny Burns at Maryland Politics Today reports:

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold sent a proposal to raise the gross receipt tax on commercial bingo from 7.5 percent to the general rate of 10 percent.

Leopold says that the increase would generate about $300,000 annually for the County. "This bill is simply charging the same tax on commercial bingo that is being charged to all other admissions and amusements, with the exception of movie theaters."

Legislation is expected to be introduced to the county council on Monday.

Leopold is going to raise another tax? Great. I think this tax hike actually has less to do with taxes and raising revenue than it does with Leopold's anti-gambling obsession. But it is interesting to note than this tax increase, which will disproportionately be passed on to bingo players, will raise nearly four times as much new revenue as the county will lose under Leopold's useless $29 a year senior tax credit.

The Capital story notes:

Yesterday, Mr. Leopold proposed increasing the tax on the county's three commercial bingo parlors, which would add about 85 cents to last night's $33 evening of bingo. Bumping the 7.5 percent tax rate to 10 percent would make bingo taxes in Anne Arundel County 20 times as high as those in Calvert County, the only other jurisdiction in Maryland to permit commercial bingo.

Yes...taxes twenty times higher than Calvert County. Seems like a campaign to drive bingo business completely out of the county to feed Leopold's anti-gambling crusade.

Leopold does give us a hypocritical gem:

"I think it's only fair and equitable that all the amusements be taxed at the same rate," Mr. Leopold said, although his bill would allow the tax on movie tickets to remain at a lower rate.

Yes...raise the taxes to tax amusements at the same rate, but not really.

Another new day, another new taxing idea from the Leopold camp.