Maryland governor's false claim of tax cuts for some is really a tax hike for nearly everybody

Despite claims by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore that some Marylanders will receive a tax cut under his budget proposal, the math is adding up otherwise. Moore's proposed changes to the tax code would provide the average low-income resident with an annual tax cut of $300, and "middle class" taxpayers with an average savings of $173. Even in another dimension where those taxpayers would actually end up in the black on Tax Day with those amounts, you could still imagine Dr. Evil rubbing his hands together over that paltry "one-hundred and seventy-three dollars." But imagining is all that taxpayers who were promised a "tax cut" will be able to do next April 15, based on new numbers emerging from the state and economists in recent days.

For those working and middle-class taxpayers, the new, doubled vehicle registration fee alone will wipe out their entire tax cut. The Moore plan also eliminates deductions such as mortgage payments for homeowners. This is not only insane at a time when homeownership is already incredibly expensive and hard to attain, but is also an embrace of a radical idea designed to discourage people from even owning a home, by removing one of its key advantages over renting. With mortgages and other costs no longer deductible, most taxpayers making a modest $75,000 and up would find Moore's deduction-elimination plan delivering a tax hike. And even the low-income taxpayers are unlikely to realize any savings once all of the new, regressive tax hikes and fees are factored in.

A proposed new tax on "sugary drinks" is misleadingly promoted by sponsors as a "2-cent tax." In reality, it is 2-cents per ounce. That means $2.88 per 12-pack of sodas. $3.84 for a 12-pack of Monster Energy drinks. Multiply that by 26 or 52 weeks, depending on consumption level, and you're talking about a serious escalation in price, at a time when groceries are already obscenely-expensive for all but the wealthiest. Why in the world would our elected officials do this to their constituents?

The average Amazon Prime member places 100 orders from Amazon per year. And the average American orders food from a food delivery service like DoorDash or Uber Eats around 60 times per year. That means Moore's new 75-cents tax on all retail and food deliveries from Amazon, DoorDash, Uber Eats and other equivalent services would cost the average Marylander an additional $120 per year.

I've already reported on the massive tax hikes Moore has proposed for marijuana and sports betting. But there's yet another target for new taxes: guns. Two proposed bills would place a new 12% excise tax on all firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition.

We haven't even factored in the skyrocketing energy bills that are the direct result of Moore and the Maryland General Assembly's Communist EmPOWER MD fee hike, and their forced closure of 8 power plants across the state to meet a 100% "clean" energy target by 2035.

Conservative news outlets wringing their hands over the potential flight of the rich from Maryland are actually underplaying the threat to the state's future, because such departures of the well-off were an established fact following former Gov. Martin O'Malley's disastrous "millionaire's tax" of 2012. Only two years after that tax hike, there were 1000 less such "millionaires" filing tax returns in Maryland, and it's only gotten worse since.

So why would Moore press ahead while knowing this? Because he knows that, like before, it's the working stiffs and modestly well-off white collar workers who are really going to pick up the tab. In fact, The Washington Post calculated that Marylanders who make under $500,000 will actually contribute about 60% of the new revenue generated by the Moore tax plan. And as many economists have noted, in a real estate market as expensive as we are in now, those lucky enough to be in home are unlikely to relocate to avoid taxes, unlike the rich who can afford to move and often have more than one home.

McDonald's reopens at Cabin John Mall (Photos)

A dapper Ronald McDonald is greeting customers at the remodeled McDonald's at 11301 Seven Locks Road inside Cabin John Mall in Potomac. The renovated restaurant has reopened for business with a new look, and a new interior configuration. Everything is geared toward the new normal of takeout and delivery orders being the main driver of business after the pandemic. But the updated interior design is also a welcome reward for loyal customers who fought to keep this location open when it was in danger of closing a few years ago.

Maryland energy crisis requires axing EmPOWER, embracing nuclear

Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, UAE

Maryland is in a full-blown energy crisis, which is devastating electric ratepayers across the state, and has only exacerbated our image as a poor destination for international business. The two root causes are the direct responsibility of our elected officials in Annapolis: the Communist EmPOWER MD program, and the closure of eight power plants that resulted from a state mandate to attain 100% clean energy by 2035. EmPOWER's surcharge was increased for this year by Governor Wes Moore and the Democrat-controlled Maryland legislature. The result has been a massive increase in electric costs for Maryland residents in the midst of a cold winter. In the not-so-distant future, low-energy Maryland will be forced to import nearly half of its power from out-of-state (it currently imports 40%, and is in the process of approving another transmission line to bring power from outside Maryland), further raising electric bills.

One of the short-term solutions is obvious: Maryland must revoke, repeal, kill, and bury the EmPOWER program. Communist to the core, EmPOWER is a rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul scheme that steals money from working Marylanders, ostensibly to buy "green" appliances and home efficiency upgrades for poor people, but to also line the pockets of the political cartel and their cronies along the way. 

Maryland residents simply can't afford to "EmPOWER" the cartel any longer, and it is a no-brainer to demand that the Maryland General Assembly take immediate action to terminate it during the current session. At the moment, they are too busy cranking out every imaginable new tax in the world to increase what is already the highest tax burden in the Washington, D.C. area, and among the highest nationwide.

For the long term, we must take equally-immediate action to increase the electricity generating capacity inside our state borders. That includes restarting the shuttered power plants, and modifying others for natural gas. It also means expediting the construction of new nuclear plants across the state. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and to that end, there is one modestly-positive proposal on the table in Annapolis this session: to add nuclear to the list of "green" power sources.

But we also need to move urgently on actually getting nuclear plants constructed. There are several new players in the nuclear energy field, and new technology such as micro reactors. 

The United Arab Emirates is currently conducting an active search for potential nuclear projects in the United States. Maryland should answer the call. We often hear that nuclear plants can take two decades or more to come online. But the UAE's Emirates Nuclear Energy Company completed four reactors at the Barakah nuclear power plant in less than 12 years, and the project came in on-budget, according to the Financial Times. 

Enec's CEO Al Hammadi was asked by the FT if his firm would like to build, own, or operate nuclear projects, or function as a consultant. "All of the above," he replied. Maryland should at least be having a conversation with Al Hammadi, and with leaders at other companies, about creating a state where energy is cheap and abundant for residents and business alike.

Photo courtesy Enec

Pop Mart Robo Shop opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

The Pop Mart Robo Shop is now open at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Essentially a vending machine, it is located outside of CAVA. Pop Mart has over 2000 of these vending machines in operation, dispensing licensed blind bag collector toys and labubu. U2 should probably be contacting their lawyer.

Forever 21 says "Everything must go!" at Montgomery Mall as closing rumors swirl

Is Forever 21 closing any stores, some stores, or all stores? The apparel chain isn't making any announcements. But its Bethesda store at Westfield Montgomery Mall just put up signs stating "Everything must go!" Another sign says prices are 10% to 40% off. I've never seen an "Everything must go!" sign at a store that wasn't closing. No sign says the store is closing, but the moves align with the report from a Forever 21 location in Woodbridge, New Jersey. 

The Daily Dot reports that a similar sale is now underway at that New Jersey store, where no returns are being accepted on the sale items. When asked why they could not be returned, a Woodbridge store employee reportedly told the customer it was because all Forever 21 stores are closing, and that the discounts will ramp up as the weeks go by toward the eventual closure. The Daily Dot notes that The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the chain is mulling a bankruptcy filing.

Montgomery County, MD man arrested after alleged crime rampage in Pennsylvania

A Damascus resident is behind bars after allegedly going on a crime rampage this past weekend in Pennsylvania. Police in that state claim David Kelpy, 40, robbed a Royal Farms convenience store in Straban Township on Friday. After pocketing a whopping $89.84 from the store's cashier, he allegedly fled in a Dodge Ram pickup truck. 

Early Saturday morning, police in Luzerne County say, Kelpy rammed the Ram truck into a sedan that was already parked in a parking space in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Police allege he then got out of the truck, pulled the driver of the car he hit out of the vehicle, and threw them into the road. After assaulting the driver, police say, Kelpy then took the victim's car and ran over the victim while making his getaway.

Kelpy was located and arrested in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania. He was placed in the Luzerne County jail, where his bail has been set at $150,000.

Assault reported at Twinbrook ES in Rockville

Rockville City police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at Twinbrook Elementary School Friday morning, February 14, 2025. The assault was reported to police at the school, which is located at 5911 Ridgway Avenue, at 10:30 AM Friday.