In less than six months, more than a billion dollars of expected tax money evaporated in Maryland, upending rosy talks of tax cuts and launching partisan spending fights.
Where did the money go?
The stock market gains of a tiny number of ultra-wealthy people did not generate as much tax money as state budget forecasters predicted.
When forecasters are this wrong about the financial fortunes of the state’s top taxpayers, Maryland’s governor and General Assembly have to cut the budget by tens of millions of dollars.