Star Democrat: Johnny exposed largest tax hike in Maryland history
Original headline: "Maryland faces runaway spending, weak economic growth"
What you need to know
The 2025 session ended at midnight on April 7. By morning, Johnny was already writing — and what he wrote in the Star Democrat didn’t soften the blow. The legislature had just passed one of the largest tax increases in Maryland history, and Eastern Shore families were about to find out what that meant on their next bill, next paycheck, and next property assessment.
Johnny laid it out plainly. More pressure on family budgets. More pressure on small business. Less reason for anyone to start a business here, retire here, or stay here. Maryland’s economy is already lagging its neighbors — and Annapolis just made it harder to compete.
This is the surplus-to-deficit-to-tax-hike spiral Johnny keeps naming. Governor Hogan handed off a $5 billion surplus. Three years of Moore and the Democratic Supermajority later, the answer to the deficit they created is another round of taxes on the people who didn’t create it.
Verbatim excerpt
The 2025 session of the General Assembly wrapped up at midnight on April 7, and I need to be straight with you — they just approved one of the largest tax increases in Maryland history.
Read the original
This is a summary published with attribution. Read the full article at The Star Democrat (Johnny Mautz), originally published April 12, 2025.
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