TECH FIRMS CAUTIOUS AS NEW 3% SALES TAX ON IT SERVICES HITS: Portions of the state budget take effect July 1, including a new 3% sales tax on the sale of certain IT services. A complete list of the services now subject to the tax can found here from the Maryland Comptroller’s office. The tax is one of several lawmakers approved in Gov.Wes Moore’s budget to close a deficit that started at around $3-billion at the beginning of the legislative session. Matt Bush/WYPR-FM.

• The covered categories include computer infrastructure providers, data processing, cloud storage, web hosting, streaming support services, web search portals and archives, crypto currency mining, software publishing and more. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
• When Maryland first announced its new 3% sales and use tax on data and information technology services this spring, Jake Stokes felt his business had no choice but to leave the state. But after the Maryland Comptroller’s Office issued more guidance on the new regulations, including that pre-existing contracts would be exempt from the tax, he decided to stay. For the time being. Sam Gauntt/Maryland Matters.

TAXES ON WEALTHIEST EARNERS, RECREATIONAL CANNABIS, SPORTS BETTING: Maryland’s wealthiest earners, businesses that use digital services and individuals who partake in recreational cannabis or sports betting will pay more in state taxes starting today. The tax increases — which also apply to vending machine sales, capital gains and more — are part of the most significant rewrite of Maryland’s tax code in years. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.

RENTERS’ MOLD INFORMATION LAW GOES INTO EFFECT: After hearing from renters across Maryland, state Sen.Shaneka Henson sponsored the Tenant Mold Remediation Act in this year’s session of the General Assembly, which goes into effect today. Just as tenants get brochures about lead, they’ll now get one on mold — something the American Lung Association says can seriously affect your lungs. The law gives landlords 15 days to assess mold after a tenant reports it and says remediation should happen within 45 days, though there is flexibility. Wambui Kamau/WYPR-FM.

MOST MARYLAND COUNTIES LOSE WHITE RESIDENTS: Most Maryland counties lost white residents and saw growth in Black, Asian and Hispanic communities last year, a Baltimore Banner analysis of census estimates found. Baltimore was one of just four jurisdictions that lost Black population, with a decrease of more than 2,000 residents. Gains in Hispanic and Asian populations offset that loss. Sahana Jayaraman/The Baltimore Banner.

NATIONAL LGBTQIA+ HOTLINE TO GO AWAY, BUT HELP REMAINS IN MARYLAND: The national suicide prevention hotline will no longer offer specialized support to LGBTQIA+ people, starting July 17, the Trump administration announced last week. While the hotline at 988 will still be available for crisis support, callers will no longer be able to reach specific LGBTQIA+ services by pressing Option 3. The change worries advocates because their data shows the LGBTQIA+ community has a disproportionally high suicide rate. Even after the option ends, here’s how to receive tailored support if you’re in Maryland. Anna Rubenstein/The Baltimore Banner.

FINE PAYMENT CLEARS WAY FOR PITTMAN TO LEAD MARYLAND DEMs: State election officials have levied a fine of $700 against Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, who subsequently closed his campaign account, clearing the way for him to take over as chair of the Maryland Democratic Party. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.

ABREGO GARCIA TO REMAIN IN JAIL FOR NOW: A federal magistrate judge said Monday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who lives in Maryland and was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and then was returned to the United States to face criminal charges of human smuggling, will remain in federal custody until at least mid-July. Melissa Quinn/WJZ-TV News.

• Abrego Garcia’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay his release because of what they described as “contradictory statements” by President Donald Trump’s administration over what would happen to the Salvadoran national. The lawyers wrote in a brief to the court that “we cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue” by the Justice Department, adding that the “irony of this request is not lost on anyone.” Staff/The Associated Press.

CITY SHERIFF PROBES ICE DETENTION AT MITCHELL COURTHOUSE: he Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it is investigating a Maryland corrections department employee after ICE agents made a rare and apparently invited visit to the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse last week and detained someone. Ben Conarck and John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.

STUDENTS ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER, WITHOUT CELLPHONES: On a cool Friday morning in April, the halls of California’s San Mateo High School were full of students chatting, running to class or trying to find their friends. But one common sight in high schools across the country was and always is absent from the halls of San Mateo: cellphones. Sam Gauntt of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.

ANNAPOLIS TO TACKLE SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROLIFERATION: Democrat Harry Huntley, an Annapolis alderman who represents an historic downtown district, wants to prevent what’s happened on Cornhill Street, where there are hardly any owner-occupied houses, from spreading all over the city. This month, he introduced an ordinance that would limit future short-term rentals. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Banner.

MOSBY SAYS BATES FILED PROFESSIONAL COMPLAINT OVER SYED DECISION: Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby says her successor, Ivan Bates, has filed a professional complaint over her actions in the case of Adnan Syed, the subject of the podcast “Serial,” describing the move to file a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland as unprecedented. When she was in office, Mosby moved to throw out Syed’s conviction and then dropped the charges against him. But Bates reversed course. Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.

EX-CEO OF B’MORE NONPROFIT PLEADS GUILTY TO MISUSING COVID FUNDS: The former CEO of the defunct nonprofit manager Strong City Baltimore has pleaded guilty to one count of federal misdemeanor bank theft, admitting that he misused Covid paycheck protection funds to cover the organization’s mismanaged finances. Reginald Davis entered the plea Friday. His sentencing is now scheduled for Sept. 30. Davis “did not take one penny for himself in this case,” his attorney said. Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.

The post State Roundup: New Taxes Target It Services, Wealthiest Earners And Sports Betting; Analysis Finds White Population Of Most Maryland Counties Dropped appeared first on citybiz.

This contant was orignally distributed by citybiz. Blockchain Registration, Verification & Enhancement provided by NewsRamp™. The source URL for this press release is State Roundup: New Taxes Target It Services, Wealthiest Earners And Sports Betting; Analysis Finds White Population Of Most Maryland Counties Dropped.