Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and key members of the state legislature appear to have struck a budget deal that includes a lower tax hike for online sportsbooks than was originally envisioned.
The budget proposal Moore unveiled in January contained a doubling of the state’s tax rate for Maryland sports betting sites, with the governor recommending it rise to 30% from its current 15%.
Reasons given for the proposed increase included that it would bring Maryland more in line with neighboring states and perhaps “better align the state with the principles of sound tax policy.”
Yet a meeting of the Maryland House of Delegates’ Ways and Means Committee on Thursday suggests that the governor and legislators have landed on a lower-yet-still-higher tax rate of 20%.
