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...It is rumored that some states are considering an exhalation tax, but as of yet, inhalation is still deemed a non-taxable personal preference.

Sub committees have been formed in at least 11 states to study the profitability margin of the new exhaling regulations, and PACs have been set up and funded by the Rand Corporation and the Ford Foundation.

We will be following this story with interest, and will update our reports as further developments occur.

Lion

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: It seems like every year state and federal lawmakers pass
: legislation that either a) increases an existing tax rate
: or b) levies a new tax or fee on constituents. Whether the
: tax is applied to income, property, sales, vehicle

: registration, inheritance, or even death itself,
: legislators are continuously thinking of new ways to get an
: extra penny out of the American people.

: While some “red-state” governors – such as Rick Perry (TX),
: Sam Brownback (KS), and Rick Scott (FL) – have fought to
: keep the overall tax burden of their state’s residents
: relatively low, center-left politicians, such as Governor
: Martin O’Malley (MD) and Governor Jerry Brown (CA),
: continue to hike tax rates to cover the cost of wasteful
: government spending. Maryland, for example, has had 40 new
: taxes signed into law by Gov. O’Malley since he took office
: in 2007. The most oppressive of those taxes is the one
: being levied on rain.

: If you’re expecting a punch line from that last sentence,
: you’ll be waiting awhile, because it is no joke. Maryland
: is the only state in the country that taxes the amount of
: rain that falls.

: Formally known as HB 987 or the Stormwater
: Management-Watershed and Restoration Program, the “rain
: tax” – passed by the state legislature and signed into law
: on May 2, 2012 – was in response to a 2010 Environmental
: Protection Agency (EPA) mandate aimed towards reducing the
: pollution levels in the Chesapeake Bay. While the EPA’s
: $7.7 billion project called on the seven surrounding states
: to pass legislation recommendations contained within the
: Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report, Maryland is
: currently the only state to have actually listened to the
: federal agency.

: So what exactly is the “rain tax,” and who must pay it?

: This tax is an annual fee on impervious surfaces such as
: roofs, driveways, sidewalks, garages, and any other surface
: that could create drainage problems and water contamination
: situated on property owned by an individual or a business.
: However, the tax is not applied to every city or county in
: the state.
: Recommended by Forbes

: In fact, only nine counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll,
: Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince
: George) and the city of Baltimore – out of twenty-four
: total counties in Maryland – are responsible not only for
: paying this fee, but their local officials must determine
: and set the dollar amount their constituents will pay. This
: leaves the aforementioned jurisdictions with 10 different
: “rain tax” rates. For example, Charles County levies a flat
: fee of $43 per property, while Montgomery County has fee
: rates ranging from $29.17 to $265.20 depending on size of
: impervious surfaces.

: Not only are the rates different for each, but so are the
: amount of square feet used to calculate the Equivalent
: Residential Unit and Impervious Unit: the unit of
: measurement to base the total fee per ERU or IU. One unit
: of ERU in the city of Baltimore is 1,050 sq. ft., while one
: ERU in Anne Arundel County is 2,940 sq. ft. Out of all the
: areas impacted by this fee, only two use the square footage
: amount per IU.

: And of course no tax hike would be complete without government
: agencies, such as the Department of Navy, that own land
: with impervious surfaces resisting and declining to pay the
: newly enacted law.

: Instead, middle-class families and business owners are stuck
: paying for a multi-billion dollar EPA program no other
: state bordering the Chesapeake Bay would help finance. If
: government entities aren’t going to follow the law they
: passed in the state, why should any Marylander be forced to
: pay a fee for a project on which they did not directly
: vote?

: When the state legislature reconvenes on January 8, 2014, the
: first order of business should be for state senators and
: representatives to rally behind all legislative
: initiatives, such as state senator Allen Kittleman’s
: pre-filed bill, that fully repeal this business-crippling
: tax. With local leaders – such as Anne Arundel County
: Executive Laura Neuman – speaking out against the negative
: impact this fee has on local business and residents,
: lawmakers in Annapolis need to head their words and take
: action. By keeping the law as written, the Governor and
: members of the General Assembly might as well help pack-up
: the offices and warehouses of local businesses that will
: undoubtedly relocate across state lines. Gov. O’Malley
: claims he wants to help working, middle-class Marylanders,
: here’s his chance. Start with the full repeal of the “Rain
: Tax.”

:
: http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbrown/2014/01/03/when-it-rains-it-pours-tax-dollars-in-maryland/#135349a14a33