Key victories include measures to overhaul state’s general accounting system and establish new Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (April 11, 2023) - Maryland Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman today announced that several of the agency’s legislative priorities, including bills to reform Maryland’s general accounting system and establish an Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, have passed the General Assembly. Four of those bills were signed into law by Governor Wes Moore today, and two remaining bills await his signature.
“I am grateful to the Maryland General Assembly for the bipartisan support our legislation received during the 2023 legislative session,” Comptroller Lierman said. “When running for office, I pledged to reform the Comptroller’s Office to better address the needs of Maryland’s diverse communities. The passage of these bills helps our office advocate for the services Maryland’s taxpayers deserve and to begin the important step of modernizing Maryland’s accounting systems. I’d like to thank Senate President Bill Ferguson, Speaker Adrienne Jones, and all the members of the Senate and House of Delegates for their support.”
The following legislative priorities have successfully passed the 2023 General Assembly session and have been signed into law.
21st Century Financial Systems Council-Establishment HB709 / SB659. Brought by the Office of the Comptroller in partnership with the Treasurer and Secretary of Budget & Management, this legislation creates a directive to investigate, adopt, and implement a new general accounting system for the entire state government. Maryland has one of the oldest accounting and payment processing systems in the country and needs to begin a thoughtful but expedient process to replace this outdated system to guarantee continued service to vendors, businesses, and non-profits who rely on timely state agency payments as well as to balance the state’s checkbooks every year.
Commercial Law Abandoned Property Alterations SB241.This legislation allows the Comptroller’s Office to dispose of abandoned property with no commercial value. These items, held by the agency’s Unclaimed Property division, have been abandoned for years, and the state has been unable to reunite them with an owner.
Income Tax - Work Opportunity Tax Credit - Technical Correction SB242.This technical fix corrects an incorrect cross-reference to the federal Internal Revenue Code relating to the federal work opportunity tax credit in the state code.
Income Tax - Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit - Alterations SB243. This fix in the tax code ensures that only Maryland residents can claim the child and dependent tax credit.
The following legislative priorities have passed the General Assembly and will be signed into law at a later date:
The Supporting All Taxpayers Act of 2023 HB707 / SB660. Unlike neighboring states and the federal government, Maryland does not have a designated department committed to helping taxpayers and their elected representatives utilize the resources available within the Office of the Comptroller to resolve tax problems. This legislation established an Office of the State Taxpayer Advocate within the Comptroller’s Office and provides at least six staff members to assist Marylanders with timely resolutions to tax issues and work to identify and address systemic challenges to efficient tax processing and problem resolution for Marylanders.
Income Tax – Out–of–State Taxes Paid by Pass–Through Entities – Addition Modification SB0240. This modification puts out-of-state PTEs on the same footing from a tax perspective as in-state PTEs. This makes Maryland PTEs more competitive.