Prof. Isberg: When It Comes to Tax Cuts, 'Speak to Your Accountant'
October 23, 2018
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
In an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, Steve Isberg, associate professor in the University of Baltimore's Merrick School of Business, writes that the recently imposed federal tax cut may have unintended consequences for Maryland's middle class: Namely, a higher state tax bill.
"While your federal taxes may or may not increase, your Maryland taxes almost certainly will increase. I believe the operative phrase here is: 'Speak to your accountant,'" writes Isberg, who teaches finance at the school.
"How did this happen? How did a reworking of the system that was touted as a tax cut actually lead to an increase? It's all about the federal standard deduction, which was boosted to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for families. This move will lead many taxpayers away from itemizing deductions on their federal returns. Since Maryland allows most of your federal tax deductions to carry over to your state tax return, you will lose those itemized deductions if you take the standard deduction on your federal return. If you are a family with itemized deductions of less than $24,000, they will disappear from your Maryland return."
Read the op-ed in The Baltimore Sun.
Learn more about Prof. Isberg and the Merrick School of Business.