Anne Arundel co. exec. rejects Marylands new stormwater fee, set for July 1

Anne Arundel co. exec. rejects Marylands new stormwater fee, set for July 1

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman has vetoed the stormwater fee the state of Maryland mandated for her county, saying too few residents are aware of the tax. As reported in last weeks Bulletin, the fee, designed to pay to clean up polluted runoff into the Chesapeake Bay, would disproportionately affect businesses.

Reaction to the veto on the county council split along partisan lines, with Republicans applauding the move and Democrats opposing it. Councilman Derek Fink, a Republican, said the bill needs a lot of work. He supports a much, much, much smaller number as a place holder while the council discusses new fees, reported the Baltimore Sun.

Democratic Councilman Jamie Benoit said council members might well override the veto. The state has given us a pretty clear mandate to deal with this by July 1, he told the Sun.

Members of Maryland Senates Budget and Taxation Committee told a business group recently that the law will likely be amended, said the Maryland Reporter. Churches and nonprofit groups, which are also covered by the fee, are asking for exemptions. And the large car import facilities on the Port of Baltimore would have to pay $400,000 a year, said a council member.

In a move reminiscent of the way the estate tax became the death tax, opponents of the Maryland stormwater fee are calling it the rain tax.

WANADA and MADA CEOs Gerry Murphy and Pete Kitzmiller, respectively, are meeting with Montgomery County Council members this week to discuss the reach, breadth and predictable tax burden the stormwater fees will have on Maryland dealers.