O'Malley Improved Maryland's Tax System

[Koinos]

O'Malley didn't just talk about about raising taxes on the rich; he did it:

At a time when many governors stubbornly rejected new revenues despite their states’ weak fiscal positions, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s was one of only a few governors who championed tax increases to preserve his state’s public investments even during the Great Recession.

Early in his term, O’Malley made a substantial revenue increase the centerpiece of his economic agenda.

The most notable piece of this package was a progressive measure, the “millionaires tax,” which temporarily created a slightly higher new tax bracket applicable solely to taxpayers with taxable income in excess of $1 million. This change raised millions in much-needed revenue from the very wealthiest Marylanders—a group that could clearly afford to pay more since, at that time (PDF), the top 1 percent of taxpayers in Maryland paid just 6.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes compared to an effective tax rate of almost 10 percent for the bottom 20 percent of earners.

These taxes were progressive and unpopular among the wealthy. As were these:

Five years later, O’Malley moved to increase the sustainability and progressivity of the tax code by raising income tax rates and limiting tax exemptions for Marylanders earning more than $100,000. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), these changes only affected 11 percent of Maryland taxpayers and a majority of it was borne by the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers in the state.

Some tax increases were regressive and unpopular, such as tax increases on gasoline, cigarettes, and sales. Yet even these helped to maintain services throughout the state:

Each of these tax increases disproportionately affected low- and middle-income taxpayers. However, these increases were part of a broadly progressive package and were critical in maintaining public services that benefit all families in the state.

O'Malley has also called for an increase in capital gains taxes:

In addition, he has recently argued in favor of raising the capital gains tax rate, which would make the tax system significantly more fair considering that capital gains receive a preferential rate compared to wages and primarily are received by wealthier Americans. This move could potentially position him to the left of Hillary Clinton, who has been mum on raising the capital gains tax rate so far this election and has expressed skepticism of increasing the rate in the past.

http://njtoday.net/2015/06/11/progressive-grous-says-omalley-improved-marylands-tax-system/

[FSogol]

1. Progressive taxation. K&R. n/t

[Koinos]

2. Indeed, the only way to reverse economic inequality.