Maryland’s government spends a lot of money, and so it taxes its residents a lot — enough to drag Baltimore Ravens quarterback from being the highest-paid NFL player before taxes to the second-highest after taxes.
So, how does Maryland avoid driving all businesses away? Well, it hands out special tax breaks to favored industries like biotech and green energy. And, soon enough, Maryland may have a special tax credit for giant defense contractor Lockheed Martin:
The Maryland Senate advanced a bill Friday that would exempt Lockheed Martin from paying about $450,000 a year in hotel taxes to Montgomery County related to a training center that the giant defense contractor operates in Bethesda….
As written, the bill applies to any company that operates a lodging facility in Maryland solely to support a training or conference facility that is not open to the general public.
Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery), the bill’s chief sponsor, acknowledged that no company but Lockheed Martin currently qualifies for the exemption.
