Miller: Sales tax increase won’t happen

Posted: 2:45 pm Thu, January 12, 2012
By Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS — Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller is assuring an economic development group that a sales tax increase won’t happen.

Miller spoke Thursday at the winter conference of the Maryland Economic Development Association in Annapolis.

Miller was responding to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who told reporters on the first day of session on Wednesday that increasing the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent could be another idea to raise money to address a $1.1 billion budget deficit and find badly needed money for transportation infrastructure.

However, Miller says he hopes a gas tax increase will be approved. He says Maryland has fallen behind in dealing with transportation infrastructure needs.

Maryland’s 23.5-cent gas tax has not been raised since 1992.