Online Boom Could Mean Sales Tax Bust for Local Governments

WASHINGTON – State officials have long conceded that it is virtually impossible to collect taxes on out-of-state sales such as mail-order purchases: That headache may now go high-tech with the projected boom in online sales

Planting Predicted,724

ANNAPOLIS – Maryland farmers will try to cut their losses caused by low market prices and last year’s drought by planting less corn this year, according to an agricultural report released Wednesday

Bill Gives Sales Tax Break For POW Flags

ANNAPOLIS — A bill exempting purchases of prisoner-of-war flags from Maryland’s 5 percent sales tax will be debated in a Senate hearing Thursday

Unity Walk,681

ANNAPOLIS – A class of screaming kindergartners, a small pack of sun-baked family and friends, and one red-faced governor welcomed seven walkers and a dog to Annapolis on Tuesday

Tobacco Protection,613

ANNAPOLIS – In an effort to protect cigarette makers involved in last year’s national tobacco settlement, key legislators have proposed a bill that would set up an emergency fund to cover payments to the state if the tobacco industry’s profits drop

Schaefer Supports Tax-Free Week

ANNAPOLIS – Comptroller William Donald Schaefer — the head of Maryland’s tax-collecting agency — said Monday that he supports a bill suspending the sales tax on purchases of clothing and lodging for one week

Pepsi Pulls Commercial filmed at University of Maryland

ANNAPOLIS – Pepsi officials yanked a television commercial filmed at the University of Maryland-College Park after school officials complained that it tarnished campus fraternities’ image and made light of alcohol abuse

Child Abuse and Neglect Cases On the Rise in Maryland

WASHINGTON – Child abuse and neglect investigations in Maryland have risen steadily from 1994 to 1998, state statistics show, mirroring similar increases on the national level

Chewing Gum, Asbestos Makers Go Way of the Buggy Whip in Government Index

WASHINGTON – Dance halls, asbestos product manufacturers and chewing gum makers have joined the list of “buggy whip” industries whose time has come and gone, according to the government

Growth in Maryland Prison Population Takes Sudden Nose-Dive

WASHINGTON – The growth rate of Maryland’s prison population dropped dramatically in recent years after an extended period of rapid increase, according to statistics from the Department of Justice