Md. Gubernatorial Candidates Go Head-To-Head On Taxes
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Campaign 2014 is in the last four weeks and the conversation over issues is growing. The candidates debated issues on WJZ and taxes emerged as a primary concern.
Political reporter Pat Warren talked to voters about it Wednesday.
A Washington Post/University of Maryland poll shows 30% of voters consider taxes the number one issue---and some of the most spirited exchanges in the debate Tuesday centered on who will do what about them.
In the governor's debate in the WJZ studios, candidates Anthony Brown and Larry Hogan punched and counterpunched over taxes.
"Let me be clear: I don't see the need nor as governor of Maryland to raise taxes. There will be no new taxes in the Brown-Ulman administration," Brown said.
"You and Martin O'Malley said exactly the same thing, then you raised 40 taxes in a row that crushed Maryland families and small businesses," Hogan said.
WJZ asked voters Wednesday how important taxes are to them in this election.
"As I am personally taxed until I can't afford to get anything fixed in my house, it definitely plays a part," a voter said.
"The more taxes you pay, the less money you have in your pocket," another voter said.
"It's gotta come from somewhere, I do realize that, but they're way too high," a third said.
"Everybody would want lower taxes. That's not anything I would think anyone would complain about," a voter said.
"Everybody's affected by how much tax they have to pay. It's less money in their own pocket," a voter said.
Larry Hogan and Anthony Brown have different approaches to tax relief but political analyst Matthew Crenson says it may not be easy to accomplish.
"It sounds to me regardless of who's elected, taxes are going to be a problem. They're going to be a problem and if you look at the voters' judgement on who's best at job creation, there's hardly any difference between Hogan and Brown, Brown's about 43%, Hogan's about 40% so the voters see both of them in the same boat and they've put themselves in the same boat," Crenson said.
That ship sails November 4.
The Washington Post poll shows voters think Hogan would be better at handling taxes than Brown, 47% to 36%.
After taxes, education is the voters' second highest concern.
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