September 7, 2010
Changes to Corporate Income Tax Likely.
Maryland’s Business Tax Reporting Subcommittee of the Business Tax Reform Commission met on Thursday, September 2, 2010, and discussed the issue of combined reporting. Although the Subcommittee did not make any recommendations, it debated the various issues involved with combined reporting. The purpose of the meeting was to develop a list of pros and con’s of those issues. The issues included: definition of a unitary group (water’s edge or worldwide), apportionment of income (Finnegan, Joyce, or other versions), single factor for sales, effective date for combined reporting, non-operational income, impact on public companies financial statements, and impact on the Maryland Comptroller’s office. Attached is a copy of the discussion paper on combined reporting that was distributed at the meeting.
However, it was evident that one issue, single factor sales, will likely be included in their recommendations. In addition, there was substantial disagreement about whether combined reporting should be revenue neutral, which will be related to the decision on when the first taxable year begins. If combined reporting is enacted by the 2011 General Assembly, an effective date of January 1, 2012 could result in additional income to Maryland in next year’s budget discussions, but an effective date of January 1, 2013 would likely not have as much of an impact on budget considerations and also provide a greater lead time for the state and impacted companies to be compliant.
The next meeting of the full Commission is scheduled for September 23, 2010, in Annapolis. The Commission will issue a report to the legislature by December 15, 2010. It will have a substantial impact on the 2011 legislative discussions of the issue.
MRA’s Legislative Committee will discuss the issue at its upcoming meeting on September 22, 2010, in Annapolis. If you have information that will be helpful in formulating a position for the Association, please contact either Patrick Donoho at pdonoho@mdra.org or Jeffrey Zellmer at jzellmer@mdra.org prior to the meeting.
MRA Annual Conference.
Registration for MRA’s Annual Conference is open. Show your support for MRA and also the Awards and scholarship recipients by registering today. Attached is the Conference schedule and registration form. Please take a few minutes and send your registration in for this important event. The cost of the Annual Conference is: $160 and for only the luncheon, the cost is: $50.
The format has changed this year to a one day Conference preceded by the MRA Annual meeting and Board meeting on September 21st. The change will allow many MRA members to attend the informative Conference without the expense of hotel rooms.
The Law Enforcement Award winners are:
Anne Arundel County Police Department
Baltimore County Police Department
- Detective Sgt. Gerald D’Angelo
Baltimore County Police Department
Baltimore City Police Department
Baltimore County Police Department
- Detective Sgt. Allen Meyer
Baltimore County Police Department
Baltimore County Police Department
Prince George’s County Police Department
- Inspector Courtney Voynik
U. S. Postal Service
Maryland State Police
The Scholarship recipients are:
Salisbury University
University of Maryland
Harford Community College
University of Maryland
University of Maryland Baltimore County
We look forward to seeing you.
Early Voting Begins.
Friday, September 3, 2010, was the beginning of early voting in the primary election in Maryland. Early voting centers will be open starting Friday, September 3, 2010, through Thursday, September 9, 2010, except for Sunday, September 5th when early voting centers are closed. The primary election will be held on September 14, 2010.
This is the first election in Maryland to have early voting and permits Maryland registered voters to go to a polling center to cast an early ballot. Early voting centers (by county) can be found on the following website: http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/early_voting.html
In 2007, the Maryland General Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that, upon approval by the voters of Maryland, would give the General Assembly the authority to enact legislation authorizing voting before Election Day. See Chapter 513 (Senate Bill 1) of the 2007 Legislative Session. The proposed Constitutional Amendment was on the ballot in the 2008 General Election. The voters of Maryland approved this Constitutional Amendment, and the Constitution of Maryland was amended to reflect this change.
MRA is one of the founding members of the Maryland Prosperity Project, which is a bi-partisan, business lead effort to increase voter registrations and increase voter turnout with an emphasis on absentee voting. During the last election cycle, 100,000 absentee ballots were a result of the Projects efforts. These efforts are particularly important in this election cycle with as many unpredictable voters in many districts throughout the state.
Upcoming Events.
2010 MRA Annual Conference
The MRA Annual Conference will be at the Annapolis Sheraton Hotel on September 21-22. Hope to see you there!
Hall of Fame
The Maryland Food Industry Hall of Fame, honoring those who have made a significant contribution to the food industry in Maryland, will be held on November 4 at Martin’s West.
