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Maryland Governor Won't Budge on Tax Issue

MARYLAND – As reported by the Baltimore Sun: "Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and top administration officials told a key House committee yesterday that they are willing to bend on virtually every aspect of their gambling plan except the one that might be most crucial to House Democratic leaders: increasing taxes.

"Pressed by the committee - which killed the administration's slots plan last year - the governor and Budget Secretary James C. 'Chip' DiPaula Jr. said they're open to a new 'super-track' for horse racing in downtown Baltimore.

"They said they'll negotiate state ownership of slots dens, an idea advocated by House Speaker Michael E. Busch that cuts out the owners of Maryland racetracks.

"They even said they're open to pulling Prince George's County off the list of jurisdictions eligible for gambling facilities, which the county executive and some delegates representing the area have said they want.

"But Ehrlich repeatedly said - to the committee and to a lunchtime pro-slots rally outside the State House - that he will not bend on significant tax increases, promising deep cuts in everything but public schools if the House rejects expanded gambling.

"…The administration's unwillingness to bend on taxes could doom Ehrlich's slots plan, warned Del. Sheila E. Hixson, a Montgomery County Democrat and chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee…"

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