Maryland Taxes the Producers -- Part 6,244

Even statist loving columnists like Barry Rascovar understand the damage that the new 6% tax on computer services companies residing in Maryland will do.

...now, computer services will cost an additional 6 percent, which will make Maryland companies providing these services non-competitive. Their rivals in Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and elsewhere just gained a 6 percent edge in bidding on contracts.

Try stripping away 6 percent from a company’s margin. For many smaller companies, that could send them hurtling toward insolvency. No wonder firms already are making plans to move their jobs and locations to other states.

What lawmakers forgot is that information technology is the most mobile industry that exists. Maryland IT services firms have been trying to match the low, low prices of offshore competitors in India and the Ukraine. This new tax will shut local firms out of huge numbers of business opportunities.