Hello everyone, sorry I missed you Friday but I was in Annapolis rallying support for my campaign for Governor of Maryland. I do not normally blog on weekends but wanted to post my Friday blog today. I will be back Monday with a close look at the dismantling of public justice system happening on a national, state, and local level. Today's blog introduces this issue.
PLEASE LOOK BELOW AT ALL OF THE STATE OFFICES WE VOTE TO FILL EACH ELECTION PERIOD AND LOOK AT WHAT THE MISSION OF THAT OFFICE IS TO THE CITIZENS OF MARYLAND. THEN THINK ABOUT THE MARYLAND REVENUE COLLECTION AND BUDGETS AND IMAGINE HOW MUCH MORE MONEY WOULD COME INTO THE STATE IS THESE OFFICES WORKED IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND NOT THE INTEREST OF CORPORATIONS.
THE GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND HAS THE BULLY-PULPIT TO SHOUT OUT FOR ALL OTHER OFFICES TO DO THEIR JOBS!
Well, it's official-------the namesake of Johns Hopkins University can Rest In Peace after several decades of turning in his grave like a whirling dervish. This man was an Industrial philanthropist with a notion of building a health and education facility for the people's good; the mission of a Quaker and abolitionist. Those living in Baltimore know that Hopkins Corporation is the opposite as one of the world's most neo-conservative institutions behind drone warfare and world-wide NSA spying and surveillance. Hopkins Corporation is the face of labor enslavement in bringing labor to the lowest common denominator. SEE HOW THAT CONFLICTS WITH A QUAKER MISSION OF PEACE AND EQUALITY? ERGO, THE WHIRLING DERVISH.
Those living in Baltimore have understood that that Hopkins Corporation is Wall Street and the Mayor of Wall Street, Michael Bloomberg, has controlled much of Baltimore politics and public policy through Johns Hopkins. So, to have the Johns Hopkins Board of Regents vote to rename Hopkins Corporation to Michael Bloomberg University as recognition to Bloomberg's purchase of $4 billion in shares. Bloomberg bought the Hopkins Corporate brand. SO, REST IN PEACE JOHNS HOPKINS THE MAN!
Why did this happen now and not over the two decades that Johns Hopkins was building its global corporate headquarters in East Baltimore? To recognize Hopkins as a corporation back then would have made it harder to sent over a trillion dollars in Federal, state, and local taxes needed to expand globally as a corporation. After the 2008 economic crash that moved the AIG assets to investment firms like HighStar with Hopkins as a major shareholder and transferring major state agencies like the Port of Baltimore, VEOLA ENVIRONMENT coming take-over of Baltimore's water, waste, and sewage with HighStar and Hopkins as leading shareholder, and the JOHNS HOPKINS CREDIT UNION being the same as a Wall Street bank......it was time to make it official. JOHNS HOPKINS THE CORPORATION IS NOW MICHAEL BLOOMBERG THE CORPORATION.
This speaks to my last blog on corporate taxation and my coming blogs on Rule of Law and public justice. A few years ago after the economic crash in 2008 took all public money through massive corporate fraud, local media had an article that asked then Hopkins CEO when Hopkins' would start paying taxes because as everyone knows, Hopkins is a corporation not a private non-profit. The CEO of Hopkins famously came on local media to announce to the peasants....I mean citizens, that it would not be paying taxes. Now, you may wonder why a media outlet had to ask a CEO about paying taxes when all of that is determined by the State of Maryland and it classification of non-profits vs corporate status. It is the State of Maryland that makes that classification and demands that Hopkins Corporation pays taxes. See where having politics in Maryland controlled by corporate pols has skewed the entire definition of corporations as private non-profits?
It is very easy now to designate not only Hopkins but private non-profits like MedStar Hospitals as corporations because the entire purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to take the mission of hospitals as public health and make them profit-driven. The reform has made hospitals more profitable than any time in history just in the few years of health care reform and that is why Hopkins is now positioning itself as a private global corporate health system built primarily by taxpayer money.....GOD BLESS MIKULSKI AND CARDIN AS THE SOURCE FOR THOSE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS!
So, Maryland loses billions of dollars each year from simply failing to categorize as corporations businesses that are no longer private non-profits. Neo-liberals have made it this way and are building a structure of revenue-collection based on taxing the working and middle-class heavily so these corporations do not pay any taxes. It is also why Baltimore and Maryland use corporate tax credits so heavily. Republican voters need to understand that their candidates and incumbents are working for the same. The answer for tax justice is
RUNNING AND VOTING FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES TO REBUILD THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!
CINDY WALSH FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND AND BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016 WOULD BE THAT START.
The Governor of Maryland has a major responsibility for corporate accountability. The appointment of positions from Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation to the Maryland Public Services/Public Works Commission all determine whether corporations are going to be allowed to commit tax fraud by government officials failing to do their jobs, or whether corporations are going to be held to Rule of Law and government provide oversight and accountability.
THIS IS THE HISTORY OF MARYLAND IN THAT A CRONY POLITICAL SYSTEM MAKES SURE ONLY POLITICIANS RUNNING FOR STATEWIDE OFFICE ARE COMMITTED TO KEEPING THE STATUS QUO AS REGARDS THE FREE LUNCH FOR CORPORATIONS AND THE RICH. This is why you will not hear of my campaign on any Maryland media outlet and this is not free and fair elections. It is third world captured politics.
One can just look at these two state agencies with leaders appointed by the governor to see why Maryland's labor and justice is completely dismantled. First and foremost is Maryland Attorney General and City Attorney both of which have dismantled all white collar criminal agencies.......but that is a separately elected position. Sadly, none of the current candidates for Maryland Attorney General will seek to rebuild public justice.
THE GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND CAN CIRCUMVENT THIS ABYSS OF PUBLIC JUSTICE BY APPOINTING PEOPLE TO HEAD AGENCIES WHO WILL WORK IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. THE GOVERNOR CAN AS WELL BUILD TASK FORCES TO LOOK AT THE OPERATIONS OF PUBLIC JUSTICE IN THE STATE.
THAT IS WHAT MY CAMPAIGN WILL DO AND IT IS WHY YOU WILL NOT HEAR OF ME IN ANY OF THE NORMAL CIRCLES.
The failure of this one agency to oversee and hold accountable the businesses and corporations to existing laws and regulations makes Maryland citizens and employees constant victims of fraud and corruption. From building inspectors to workplace inspectors----the dismantling of this agency is what makes Maryland third world for labor and justice. Immigrant workers fleeced in the workplace look to this agency for protection and it is here they do not get it.
THIS AGENCY DOES NOT WORK BECAUSE O'MALLEY OR EHRLICH.....CORPORATE POLITICIANS APPOINT PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT.
DLLR's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing
Michael Vorgetts,
Acting Commissioner
Working in concert with 23 licensing boards, commissions and programs appointed by the Governor, the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (O&P) is responsible for licensing and regulating the activities of over 210,000 individuals, corporations and partnerships.
Twenty-four occupations and professions are covered ranging from the 61 bay pilots who navigate large commercial vessels on the Chesapeake Bay, to the more than 45,000 real estate professionals who handle real estate transactions in the State of Maryland. O&P's mission is to protect the public by assuring that our licensees have met a standard of competence in their chosen profession and by responding to consumer complaints against incompetent or unscrupulous practitioners.
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While Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation is ground zero for much money lost to citizens and workers in Maryland, it is the agencies below that are part of allowing many businesses that are corporations to be categorized as private non-profits.
It starts with the IRS and the Feds for the Federal designation. As the current IRS scandal hitting the news shows-----Campaign Finance PAC organizations, whether Democratic or Republican----- the point is not whether a neo-liberal President conspired to keep conservative PACs from organizing, the point is that most of these PAC operate illegally. They are not the private non-profits they say they are. This is true to the extreme now with allowing hospitals and universities that have been made into corporations to retain their private non-profit status.
DO YOU HEAR YOUR INCUMBENT POLITICIANS IN MARYLAND SHOUTING AGAINST THE LOSS OF HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO CATEGORIZE A BUSINESS AS CORPORATE AND NOT NON-PROFIT?
It is the Maryland Secretary of State-----an obscure office----and the Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury that determine this at the state level. It is also their job to shout loudly and strongly to the IRS that the FEDs are not categorizing a business in Maryland as corporate so as to increase revenue for the national and state coffers. When a government is working for the public all of this is done automatically. The state needs revenue------shout out that billions of dollars in corporate tax revenue is lost every year from failure to categorize non-profits as corporations.
THE GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND WOULD HOLD THE COMPTROLLER AND SECRETARY OF STATE ACCOUNTABLE FOR DOING THEIR JOBS.
See how crony this has become? It does not matter if a republican is elected......that crony pol will simply do the same as these neo-liberals......protect corporate wealth over public interest. This is what must change or the citizens of Maryland will see fines, fees, taxes, and rates rise to a maximum as all the cost of doing business for global corporations falls on the public!
John P. McDonough,
Secretary of State
Welcome to the Charitable Organization Division
Peter Fosselman, Deputy Secretary of State, Director ~ Teresa Owens, Administrator, Administrator
The Charitable Organizations Division annually registers, regulates and renews charitable organizations, professional solicitors and fund-raising counsel doing business in the State of Maryland. This includes the review of a charitable organization's financial and governing documents, as well as the review of all fund-raising contracts.
John P. McDonough, Secretary of State
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
In an attempt to provide information to individuals desiring to start a non-profit organization in Maryland, the Charitable Organizations Division of the Office of the Secretary of State has gathered information set forth below on the necessary steps to form a non-profit organization. While every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, please be advised that specific questions and information should be directed to the appropriate agency.
Maryland Association of Non Profit Organizations, Inc has put together a checklist for starting a nonprofit organization in Maryland. Click here for a pdf copy of their checklist.
Federal Income Tax Exemption
Most charitable organizations are classified by the Internal Revenue Service as tax-exempt organizations. The benefit of obtaining the tax-exempt status is that the organization is not liable for any federal income tax. Applications for this status are made to the Internal Revenue Service. If tax-exempt status is granted, the organization will receive a tax determination letter. It is usually during this process that your organization will be designated an employee identification number or federal identification number. (Please note that these terms are used interchangeably.) This number is also required for many of the exemptions described below
Being a tax-exempt entity does not automatically make donations to your organization tax deductible for the donor. Since most charitable organizations are considered section 501(c)(3) organizations, donations to these charities are generally tax deductible for the donor. Your organization's tax determination letter will state whether contributions to your organization are considered tax deductible.
To obtain the necessary forms to apply for tax exemption, please contact the Internal Revenue Service by calling (toll free) 1-877-829-5500, using the IRS fax system at 703-368-9694, or downloading the forms from the IRS's website. The required forms are:
State Income Tax Exemption Upon receiving an IRS tax determination letter stating that your organization is exempt from federal income taxes, your organization may also apply for an exemption from state income taxes. The Comptroller of the Treasury is the state agency responsible for acknowledging an exemption from Maryland income tax.
To apply for a state income tax exemption, your organization should submit to the Legal Department of the Revenue Administration Division the following information:
The request for a state income tax exemption and the supporting documentation should be forwarded to the Comptroller of the Treasury, Revenue Administration Division, 110 Carroll Street, Annapolis MD 21411 and to the attention of the Legal Department. The telephone numbers of the Revenue Administration Division are 1-800-MD TAXES (638-2937) and 410-260-7980.
Formal Structure of a Tax Exempt Entity Before the Internal Revenue Service can issue your organization tax-exempt status, your organization must be formed as either an association, corporation, or trust. A copy of the organizing document (i.e., articles of incorporation approved and dated by appropriate state official, constitution or articles of association, or signed and dated trust instrument) must be filed with the IRS's Application for Recognition of Exemption.
In Maryland, corporate charter information is filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. To assist non-profit organizations, the agency has prepared a guideline for articles of incorporation for non-profit organizations which can be obtained by contacting the agency. The agency's address is 301 West Preston Street, Baltimore MD 21201, and its telephone number is 410-767-1340. Forms and information can be obtained from the agency's web site.
Registration with the Office of the Secretary of State as a Charitable Organization Organizations soliciting charitable contributions in Maryland are generally required to register with the Office of the Secretary of State as a charitable organization. Registration is required before soliciting in Maryland begins and continues on an annual basis.
If your newly formed organization will be soliciting Maryland residents for charitable contributions (either monetary or in-kind donations), your organization will probably be required to register with the Charitable Organizations Division. In most cases, the Exempt Organization Fund-Raising Notice will be the appropriate registration form for new organizations. This notice is required for organizations raising less than $25,000 in charitable contributions a year. You should also note that if your organization intends on raising funds in other states, you may also be required to register in the other states
Registration forms may be obtained in the following ways:
You may contact us By mail :
Charitable Organizations Division
Office of the Secretary of State
State House
Annapolis MD 21401 By Telephone:
410-974-5534 or
1-800-825-4510
(within Maryland) By E-mail:
Property Tax Exemption
Certain charitable, fraternal, educational, and religious organizations may be eligible for an exemption from state property tax. Once the property tax exemption is granted, the exempt status continues until it is revoked. State law, however, grants the State Department of Assessments and Taxation the authority to conduct periodic reviews of the granted exemptions to ensure continued compliance with the requirements.
While the tax-exempt status issued by the IRS is required to process the exemption application, the status granted by the IRS does not automatically guarantee that the organization's property will be exempt. Based upon the type of organization, there are different standards used to review a property tax exemption.
To receive an exemption application form or information about the exemption, please contact the State Department of Assessments and Taxation office for the county in which the property is located. You may find a list of SDAT local offices, additional information, and copies of the required forms on SDAT's web site.
Sales and Use Tax Exemption
Non-profit charitable, educational or religious organizations, volunteer fire or ambulance companies or volunteer rescue squads may also be eligible for sales and use tax exemptions. In Maryland, the Comptroller of the Treasury is responsible for granting this five-year renewable exemption. In order to be granted an exemption, your organization must have received a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service stating that your organization is exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The applicable form can be obtained by contacting the Comptroller at 410-767-1313, using the office's fax line at 410-974-FAXX (3299), or downloading the form from the Comptroller's website. The form needed to apply for an exemption from sales and use taxes is Form 2001, the Combined Registration Application. The fax system will enable you to select Form 2001 from Index 1.
You can access the fax system by calling the number on the telephone handset of the fax machine, and the requested form will be forwarded to you immediately. If the fax machine does not have a handset, call from a touch-tone telephone and the requested documents will be sent to fax machine you designate.
If you have any questions concerning sales and use tax exemption, please contact the Comptroller of the Treasury at Goldstein Treasury Building, 110 Carroll Street, Annapolis MD 21404-0466 or at 410-767-1318. Forms are also available at the Baltimore branch office located 301 West Preston Street, Room 206, Baltimore MD 21201-2384.
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One of the most vital of state agencies for public justice is the MPSC. Below you see all the areas it oversees....or should I say fails to oversee. Maryland services exist from one set of disasters to another with the governor coming to media to explain how things will be fixed. I merger of BGE with Exelon was the largest debacle for Maryland citizens as regards rates and service and handing all of the state's water and waste to VEOLA ENVIRONMENT which is indeed happening will privatize the last public sector set of utilities to Wall Street commodity speculation. Each time it is this commission that approves these deals everyone knows is bad for the public and they do it to maximize shareholder wealth. These commissioners work for shareholder wealth and not public interest.
This is why BGE has been allowed to dismantle its workforce and allow major storms to create massive energy outages as trees and power lines that are never maintained reek havoc on citizens and BGE workers forced to work days with overtime to fix what was not maintained on a regular basis. This is a business model and the MPSC allows this because it boosts BGE profit.
Think about all of the duties below and how the public is one the wrong end of the stick in every category.
THIS IS ANOTHER PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THAT HAS THE PUBLIC PAYING FOR MOST OPERATING COSTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT WHILE THE CORPORATION EARNS BILLIONS IN PROFIT.
All of Maryland's public services fall into this state of affairs because of the governor's appointments to this public agency.
To keep with today's theme of Hopkins' as corporation, it is Hopkins through HighStar that is being handed VEOLA ENVIRONMENTAL and SMART METERS as rationing tools all approved by this public commission. Once state-run and regulated public utilities that provided a solid middle-class career for Maryland citizens and strong, quality service has become an albatross for citizens because of the makeup of this commission.
CINDY WALSH FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND WILL APPOINT PUBLIC INTEREST COMMISSIONERS AND WORK FOR REGULATION AND PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF UTILITIES.
If you are against natural gas exporting------this is the agency that will approved it if left in the hands of people appointed by neo-liberals working for global corporate wealth and profit.
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC)
is an independent administrative agency within the state government which regulates public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland. Similar to other state Public Utilities Commissions, the Maryland PSC regulates and sets tariff rates for natural gas, electricity distribution, local telephone, water, and sewage disposal companies. The PSC also sets the tariff rates for pilot services for vessels and privately owned toll bridges, approves the construction of electric generating plants and overhead transmission lines with a voltage above 69 kV, and licenses retail natural gas and electricity suppliers.[1] The PSC offices are located in Baltimore in the William Donald Schaefer Building.
Governor O’Malley Appoints Kevin Hughes Chairman of the Public Service Commission
December 28th, 2012
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of Commissioner W. Kevin Hughes as chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission.
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Everyone in Maryland knows the media headlines on all things utility....from our water and sewage to incinerators and trash......from BGE power outages at the slightest of storms.....to the current fight over natural gas lines and exporting. The rates for all are going up to pay for upgrades that should have been paid for by previous rates instead of these corporations earning billions of dollars in profit.
Communications is a powerful service overseen by Maryland Public Services Commission and it will be this commission that advances THE END OF NET NEUTRALITY if Obama and neo-liberals have their way. So, do we allow anti-trust/monopolies created by consolidations cause rates to soar and soak Maryland consumers and keep many people from accessing basic communications services, or do we make these corporations operate in the public interest before millions of consumer dollars are fleeced and thousands of complaints made.
A PUBLIC SERVICE MEANS THE PUBLIC IS SERVED. IT DOES NOT MEAN THE PUBLIC IS CONSTANTLY HAVING TO SUFFER FROM LACK OF SERVICE OR POOR SERVICE WHILE PAYING EVER-HIGhER RATES.
This happens in Maryland because neo-liberals work for corporations and profit and not you and I.
When HighStar's/Hopkins VEOLA ENVIRONMENT is ready to privatize water and waste------first all of the infrastructure has to be built with public money-----it will be this Maryland Public Services Commission that OK's the privatization.
Over 300 Complaints: Maryland Public Service Commission Goes After Verizon
By Meg Marco August 9, 2007
Verizon has violated Maryland state regulations by missing more than 20% of its scheduled appointments in 5 of the first 6 months of 2007, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The Maryland Public Service Commission ordered Verizon to turn over certain documents and attend a hearing after they received over 300 complaints from consumers in a 6 month period—an increase of 50% from last year.
From the Baltimore Sun:
Leigh A. Hyer, Verizon Maryland’s general counsel, said the company was exceeding other state standards, such as the number of complaints it logs from customers about their phone lines. Some of the missed appointments, she said, could be the result of a crew showing up 10 minutes late. The company said it records all late and canceled appointments as missed in its reports to the state.
“We provide good, quality service, and in the scheme of things the number of complaints is low,” Hyer said. “We don’t believe there is a service crisis.”
But regulators said no one would have called the commission about minor complaints.
“We didn’t call this hearing because we got calls your technician was 10 minutes late,” said Commissioner Lawrence Brenner. “We got 300 calls from people who waited days, sometimes weeks.”
See the expression on PSC Chairman Steven B. Larsen’s face as he listens to Hyer’s testimony? That’s called “Verizon face.” It’s the face you make when you have to deal with Verizon.
Do you have “Verizon Face?” If so, take a picture and submit it to our Flickr pool. Tag it “Verizon Face.”
Verizon says it missed over 20% of service calls [Baltimore Sun] (Thanks, Robert!)
(Photo: Amy Davis)
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Everyone who lives in Baltimore knows how much fraud and corruption exists in public works but it is statewide. The amount of state and local revenue lost to fraud and corruption starts with this commission. The bidding process is so crony and pay-to-play that it makes Afghanistan look like a first world nation. It is incredible.
So, appointing people interested in serving the public is key to this commission. WE DO NOT WANT THE SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL crowd in this commission. We want a strong oversight and accountability and we want the entire state to feel represented in the distribution of these funds and in the awarding of work contracts. Right now that is absolutely captured by the Washington Beltway.
If a governor is working in the public interest he/she will be looking hard at the other members of this board. It is the Comptroller that identifies non-profit vs corporation designation and it is the Treasurer who oversees investments and whether they benefit the public or corporate profit. In both cases Maryland has a Treasurer and a Comptroller who work for corporations and profit.
Now, again, the public elects these Comptrollers and Treasurers that do not protect their interests but citizens are not given a choice in candidates running for the good of the people......just as with the Maryland Attorney General and Baltimore City Attorney.
THE GOVERNOR CAN USE HIS/HER OFFICE TO MAKE SURE OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE DOING THEIR DUTIES. IF CINDY WALSH SHOUTS THAT A PRIVATE NON-PROFIT IS A CORPORATION NEEDING TO PAY TAXES----THEN THE COMPTROLLER WILL BE PRESSURED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. IF THE GOVERNOR SHOUTS THAT THE STATE CONTRACTS ARE FILLED WITH FRAUD AND CORRUPTION, THEN THE TREASURER WILL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
We must replace the entire crony lot of politicians, but it is the Governor of Maryland who can make sure all agencies do their jobs for the citizens of Maryland.
Maryland Board of Public Works
From Wikipedia
The Board of Public Works is a three-member body consisting of the Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer of the state of Maryland in the United States. It oversees many aspects of the state's finances.
History and purpose
The board was established by the Maryland Constitution of 1864, replacing the Commissioners of Public Works and various other boards.[1] The board acts as a check on the power of the General Assembly[2] and also guarantees "that significant State expenditures are necessary and appropriate, fiscally responsible, fair, and lawful" and that "executive decisions are made responsibly and responsively".[1]
Duties
A unique institution amongst both the federal and U.S. state governments, the board is also quite powerful, possessing the final say in spending through loans approved by the Maryland General Assembly and in capital improvements (except roads and bridges). In addition, the board has the authority to borrow money and provide supplemental funding for state agencies. All state land purchases are carried out by the board and all contracts for office space and leases are approved by the board. While the state legislature is not in session, the board takes up many of its fiscal responsibilities in ensuring the operation of the state government.[2]
PLEASE LOOK BELOW AT ALL OF THE STATE OFFICES WE VOTE TO FILL EACH ELECTION PERIOD AND LOOK AT WHAT THE MISSION OF THAT OFFICE IS TO THE CITIZENS OF MARYLAND. THEN THINK ABOUT THE MARYLAND REVENUE COLLECTION AND BUDGETS AND IMAGINE HOW MUCH MORE MONEY WOULD COME INTO THE STATE IS THESE OFFICES WORKED IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND NOT THE INTEREST OF CORPORATIONS.
THE GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND HAS THE BULLY-PULPIT TO SHOUT OUT FOR ALL OTHER OFFICES TO DO THEIR JOBS!
Well, it's official-------the namesake of Johns Hopkins University can Rest In Peace after several decades of turning in his grave like a whirling dervish. This man was an Industrial philanthropist with a notion of building a health and education facility for the people's good; the mission of a Quaker and abolitionist. Those living in Baltimore know that Hopkins Corporation is the opposite as one of the world's most neo-conservative institutions behind drone warfare and world-wide NSA spying and surveillance. Hopkins Corporation is the face of labor enslavement in bringing labor to the lowest common denominator. SEE HOW THAT CONFLICTS WITH A QUAKER MISSION OF PEACE AND EQUALITY? ERGO, THE WHIRLING DERVISH.
Those living in Baltimore have understood that that Hopkins Corporation is Wall Street and the Mayor of Wall Street, Michael Bloomberg, has controlled much of Baltimore politics and public policy through Johns Hopkins. So, to have the Johns Hopkins Board of Regents vote to rename Hopkins Corporation to Michael Bloomberg University as recognition to Bloomberg's purchase of $4 billion in shares. Bloomberg bought the Hopkins Corporate brand. SO, REST IN PEACE JOHNS HOPKINS THE MAN!
Why did this happen now and not over the two decades that Johns Hopkins was building its global corporate headquarters in East Baltimore? To recognize Hopkins as a corporation back then would have made it harder to sent over a trillion dollars in Federal, state, and local taxes needed to expand globally as a corporation. After the 2008 economic crash that moved the AIG assets to investment firms like HighStar with Hopkins as a major shareholder and transferring major state agencies like the Port of Baltimore, VEOLA ENVIRONMENT coming take-over of Baltimore's water, waste, and sewage with HighStar and Hopkins as leading shareholder, and the JOHNS HOPKINS CREDIT UNION being the same as a Wall Street bank......it was time to make it official. JOHNS HOPKINS THE CORPORATION IS NOW MICHAEL BLOOMBERG THE CORPORATION.
This speaks to my last blog on corporate taxation and my coming blogs on Rule of Law and public justice. A few years ago after the economic crash in 2008 took all public money through massive corporate fraud, local media had an article that asked then Hopkins CEO when Hopkins' would start paying taxes because as everyone knows, Hopkins is a corporation not a private non-profit. The CEO of Hopkins famously came on local media to announce to the peasants....I mean citizens, that it would not be paying taxes. Now, you may wonder why a media outlet had to ask a CEO about paying taxes when all of that is determined by the State of Maryland and it classification of non-profits vs corporate status. It is the State of Maryland that makes that classification and demands that Hopkins Corporation pays taxes. See where having politics in Maryland controlled by corporate pols has skewed the entire definition of corporations as private non-profits?
It is very easy now to designate not only Hopkins but private non-profits like MedStar Hospitals as corporations because the entire purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to take the mission of hospitals as public health and make them profit-driven. The reform has made hospitals more profitable than any time in history just in the few years of health care reform and that is why Hopkins is now positioning itself as a private global corporate health system built primarily by taxpayer money.....GOD BLESS MIKULSKI AND CARDIN AS THE SOURCE FOR THOSE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS!
So, Maryland loses billions of dollars each year from simply failing to categorize as corporations businesses that are no longer private non-profits. Neo-liberals have made it this way and are building a structure of revenue-collection based on taxing the working and middle-class heavily so these corporations do not pay any taxes. It is also why Baltimore and Maryland use corporate tax credits so heavily. Republican voters need to understand that their candidates and incumbents are working for the same. The answer for tax justice is
RUNNING AND VOTING FOR LABOR AND JUSTICE CANDIDATES TO REBUILD THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!
CINDY WALSH FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND AND BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016 WOULD BE THAT START.
The Governor of Maryland has a major responsibility for corporate accountability. The appointment of positions from Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation to the Maryland Public Services/Public Works Commission all determine whether corporations are going to be allowed to commit tax fraud by government officials failing to do their jobs, or whether corporations are going to be held to Rule of Law and government provide oversight and accountability.
THIS IS THE HISTORY OF MARYLAND IN THAT A CRONY POLITICAL SYSTEM MAKES SURE ONLY POLITICIANS RUNNING FOR STATEWIDE OFFICE ARE COMMITTED TO KEEPING THE STATUS QUO AS REGARDS THE FREE LUNCH FOR CORPORATIONS AND THE RICH. This is why you will not hear of my campaign on any Maryland media outlet and this is not free and fair elections. It is third world captured politics.
One can just look at these two state agencies with leaders appointed by the governor to see why Maryland's labor and justice is completely dismantled. First and foremost is Maryland Attorney General and City Attorney both of which have dismantled all white collar criminal agencies.......but that is a separately elected position. Sadly, none of the current candidates for Maryland Attorney General will seek to rebuild public justice.
THE GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND CAN CIRCUMVENT THIS ABYSS OF PUBLIC JUSTICE BY APPOINTING PEOPLE TO HEAD AGENCIES WHO WILL WORK IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. THE GOVERNOR CAN AS WELL BUILD TASK FORCES TO LOOK AT THE OPERATIONS OF PUBLIC JUSTICE IN THE STATE.
THAT IS WHAT MY CAMPAIGN WILL DO AND IT IS WHY YOU WILL NOT HEAR OF ME IN ANY OF THE NORMAL CIRCLES.
The failure of this one agency to oversee and hold accountable the businesses and corporations to existing laws and regulations makes Maryland citizens and employees constant victims of fraud and corruption. From building inspectors to workplace inspectors----the dismantling of this agency is what makes Maryland third world for labor and justice. Immigrant workers fleeced in the workplace look to this agency for protection and it is here they do not get it.
THIS AGENCY DOES NOT WORK BECAUSE O'MALLEY OR EHRLICH.....CORPORATE POLITICIANS APPOINT PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT.
DLLR's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing
Michael Vorgetts,
Acting Commissioner
Working in concert with 23 licensing boards, commissions and programs appointed by the Governor, the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (O&P) is responsible for licensing and regulating the activities of over 210,000 individuals, corporations and partnerships.
Twenty-four occupations and professions are covered ranging from the 61 bay pilots who navigate large commercial vessels on the Chesapeake Bay, to the more than 45,000 real estate professionals who handle real estate transactions in the State of Maryland. O&P's mission is to protect the public by assuring that our licensees have met a standard of competence in their chosen profession and by responding to consumer complaints against incompetent or unscrupulous practitioners.
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While Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation is ground zero for much money lost to citizens and workers in Maryland, it is the agencies below that are part of allowing many businesses that are corporations to be categorized as private non-profits.
It starts with the IRS and the Feds for the Federal designation. As the current IRS scandal hitting the news shows-----Campaign Finance PAC organizations, whether Democratic or Republican----- the point is not whether a neo-liberal President conspired to keep conservative PACs from organizing, the point is that most of these PAC operate illegally. They are not the private non-profits they say they are. This is true to the extreme now with allowing hospitals and universities that have been made into corporations to retain their private non-profit status.
DO YOU HEAR YOUR INCUMBENT POLITICIANS IN MARYLAND SHOUTING AGAINST THE LOSS OF HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO CATEGORIZE A BUSINESS AS CORPORATE AND NOT NON-PROFIT?
It is the Maryland Secretary of State-----an obscure office----and the Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury that determine this at the state level. It is also their job to shout loudly and strongly to the IRS that the FEDs are not categorizing a business in Maryland as corporate so as to increase revenue for the national and state coffers. When a government is working for the public all of this is done automatically. The state needs revenue------shout out that billions of dollars in corporate tax revenue is lost every year from failure to categorize non-profits as corporations.
THE GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND WOULD HOLD THE COMPTROLLER AND SECRETARY OF STATE ACCOUNTABLE FOR DOING THEIR JOBS.
See how crony this has become? It does not matter if a republican is elected......that crony pol will simply do the same as these neo-liberals......protect corporate wealth over public interest. This is what must change or the citizens of Maryland will see fines, fees, taxes, and rates rise to a maximum as all the cost of doing business for global corporations falls on the public!
John P. McDonough,
Secretary of State
Welcome to the Charitable Organization Division
Peter Fosselman, Deputy Secretary of State, Director ~ Teresa Owens, Administrator, Administrator
The Charitable Organizations Division annually registers, regulates and renews charitable organizations, professional solicitors and fund-raising counsel doing business in the State of Maryland. This includes the review of a charitable organization's financial and governing documents, as well as the review of all fund-raising contracts.
John P. McDonough, Secretary of State
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
In an attempt to provide information to individuals desiring to start a non-profit organization in Maryland, the Charitable Organizations Division of the Office of the Secretary of State has gathered information set forth below on the necessary steps to form a non-profit organization. While every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, please be advised that specific questions and information should be directed to the appropriate agency.
Maryland Association of Non Profit Organizations, Inc has put together a checklist for starting a nonprofit organization in Maryland. Click here for a pdf copy of their checklist.
Federal Income Tax Exemption
Most charitable organizations are classified by the Internal Revenue Service as tax-exempt organizations. The benefit of obtaining the tax-exempt status is that the organization is not liable for any federal income tax. Applications for this status are made to the Internal Revenue Service. If tax-exempt status is granted, the organization will receive a tax determination letter. It is usually during this process that your organization will be designated an employee identification number or federal identification number. (Please note that these terms are used interchangeably.) This number is also required for many of the exemptions described below
Being a tax-exempt entity does not automatically make donations to your organization tax deductible for the donor. Since most charitable organizations are considered section 501(c)(3) organizations, donations to these charities are generally tax deductible for the donor. Your organization's tax determination letter will state whether contributions to your organization are considered tax deductible.
To obtain the necessary forms to apply for tax exemption, please contact the Internal Revenue Service by calling (toll free) 1-877-829-5500, using the IRS fax system at 703-368-9694, or downloading the forms from the IRS's website. The required forms are:
- Form SS-4: Application for Employer Identification Number;
- Form 8718: User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter Request; and Either:
- Form 1023: Application for Recognition of Exemption for 501(c)(3) Organizations; or
- Form 1024: Application for Recognition of Exemption for all other exempt statuses.
State Income Tax Exemption Upon receiving an IRS tax determination letter stating that your organization is exempt from federal income taxes, your organization may also apply for an exemption from state income taxes. The Comptroller of the Treasury is the state agency responsible for acknowledging an exemption from Maryland income tax.
To apply for a state income tax exemption, your organization should submit to the Legal Department of the Revenue Administration Division the following information:
- Request for exemption from Maryland income tax;
- An explanation of the nature, purpose, and scope of your organization;
- A copy of the IRS tax determination letter;
- A copy of your organization's by-laws; and
- A copy of the latest financial statement of your organization.
The request for a state income tax exemption and the supporting documentation should be forwarded to the Comptroller of the Treasury, Revenue Administration Division, 110 Carroll Street, Annapolis MD 21411 and to the attention of the Legal Department. The telephone numbers of the Revenue Administration Division are 1-800-MD TAXES (638-2937) and 410-260-7980.
Formal Structure of a Tax Exempt Entity Before the Internal Revenue Service can issue your organization tax-exempt status, your organization must be formed as either an association, corporation, or trust. A copy of the organizing document (i.e., articles of incorporation approved and dated by appropriate state official, constitution or articles of association, or signed and dated trust instrument) must be filed with the IRS's Application for Recognition of Exemption.
In Maryland, corporate charter information is filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. To assist non-profit organizations, the agency has prepared a guideline for articles of incorporation for non-profit organizations which can be obtained by contacting the agency. The agency's address is 301 West Preston Street, Baltimore MD 21201, and its telephone number is 410-767-1340. Forms and information can be obtained from the agency's web site.
Registration with the Office of the Secretary of State as a Charitable Organization Organizations soliciting charitable contributions in Maryland are generally required to register with the Office of the Secretary of State as a charitable organization. Registration is required before soliciting in Maryland begins and continues on an annual basis.
If your newly formed organization will be soliciting Maryland residents for charitable contributions (either monetary or in-kind donations), your organization will probably be required to register with the Charitable Organizations Division. In most cases, the Exempt Organization Fund-Raising Notice will be the appropriate registration form for new organizations. This notice is required for organizations raising less than $25,000 in charitable contributions a year. You should also note that if your organization intends on raising funds in other states, you may also be required to register in the other states
Registration forms may be obtained in the following ways:
You may contact us By mail :
Charitable Organizations Division
Office of the Secretary of State
State House
Annapolis MD 21401 By Telephone:
410-974-5534 or
1-800-825-4510
(within Maryland) By E-mail:
Property Tax Exemption
Certain charitable, fraternal, educational, and religious organizations may be eligible for an exemption from state property tax. Once the property tax exemption is granted, the exempt status continues until it is revoked. State law, however, grants the State Department of Assessments and Taxation the authority to conduct periodic reviews of the granted exemptions to ensure continued compliance with the requirements.
While the tax-exempt status issued by the IRS is required to process the exemption application, the status granted by the IRS does not automatically guarantee that the organization's property will be exempt. Based upon the type of organization, there are different standards used to review a property tax exemption.
To receive an exemption application form or information about the exemption, please contact the State Department of Assessments and Taxation office for the county in which the property is located. You may find a list of SDAT local offices, additional information, and copies of the required forms on SDAT's web site.
Sales and Use Tax Exemption
Non-profit charitable, educational or religious organizations, volunteer fire or ambulance companies or volunteer rescue squads may also be eligible for sales and use tax exemptions. In Maryland, the Comptroller of the Treasury is responsible for granting this five-year renewable exemption. In order to be granted an exemption, your organization must have received a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service stating that your organization is exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The applicable form can be obtained by contacting the Comptroller at 410-767-1313, using the office's fax line at 410-974-FAXX (3299), or downloading the form from the Comptroller's website. The form needed to apply for an exemption from sales and use taxes is Form 2001, the Combined Registration Application. The fax system will enable you to select Form 2001 from Index 1.
You can access the fax system by calling the number on the telephone handset of the fax machine, and the requested form will be forwarded to you immediately. If the fax machine does not have a handset, call from a touch-tone telephone and the requested documents will be sent to fax machine you designate.
If you have any questions concerning sales and use tax exemption, please contact the Comptroller of the Treasury at Goldstein Treasury Building, 110 Carroll Street, Annapolis MD 21404-0466 or at 410-767-1318. Forms are also available at the Baltimore branch office located 301 West Preston Street, Room 206, Baltimore MD 21201-2384.
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One of the most vital of state agencies for public justice is the MPSC. Below you see all the areas it oversees....or should I say fails to oversee. Maryland services exist from one set of disasters to another with the governor coming to media to explain how things will be fixed. I merger of BGE with Exelon was the largest debacle for Maryland citizens as regards rates and service and handing all of the state's water and waste to VEOLA ENVIRONMENT which is indeed happening will privatize the last public sector set of utilities to Wall Street commodity speculation. Each time it is this commission that approves these deals everyone knows is bad for the public and they do it to maximize shareholder wealth. These commissioners work for shareholder wealth and not public interest.
This is why BGE has been allowed to dismantle its workforce and allow major storms to create massive energy outages as trees and power lines that are never maintained reek havoc on citizens and BGE workers forced to work days with overtime to fix what was not maintained on a regular basis. This is a business model and the MPSC allows this because it boosts BGE profit.
Think about all of the duties below and how the public is one the wrong end of the stick in every category.
THIS IS ANOTHER PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP THAT HAS THE PUBLIC PAYING FOR MOST OPERATING COSTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT WHILE THE CORPORATION EARNS BILLIONS IN PROFIT.
All of Maryland's public services fall into this state of affairs because of the governor's appointments to this public agency.
To keep with today's theme of Hopkins' as corporation, it is Hopkins through HighStar that is being handed VEOLA ENVIRONMENTAL and SMART METERS as rationing tools all approved by this public commission. Once state-run and regulated public utilities that provided a solid middle-class career for Maryland citizens and strong, quality service has become an albatross for citizens because of the makeup of this commission.
CINDY WALSH FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND WILL APPOINT PUBLIC INTEREST COMMISSIONERS AND WORK FOR REGULATION AND PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF UTILITIES.
If you are against natural gas exporting------this is the agency that will approved it if left in the hands of people appointed by neo-liberals working for global corporate wealth and profit.
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC)
is an independent administrative agency within the state government which regulates public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland. Similar to other state Public Utilities Commissions, the Maryland PSC regulates and sets tariff rates for natural gas, electricity distribution, local telephone, water, and sewage disposal companies. The PSC also sets the tariff rates for pilot services for vessels and privately owned toll bridges, approves the construction of electric generating plants and overhead transmission lines with a voltage above 69 kV, and licenses retail natural gas and electricity suppliers.[1] The PSC offices are located in Baltimore in the William Donald Schaefer Building.
Governor O’Malley Appoints Kevin Hughes Chairman of the Public Service Commission
December 28th, 2012
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment of Commissioner W. Kevin Hughes as chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission.
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Everyone in Maryland knows the media headlines on all things utility....from our water and sewage to incinerators and trash......from BGE power outages at the slightest of storms.....to the current fight over natural gas lines and exporting. The rates for all are going up to pay for upgrades that should have been paid for by previous rates instead of these corporations earning billions of dollars in profit.
Communications is a powerful service overseen by Maryland Public Services Commission and it will be this commission that advances THE END OF NET NEUTRALITY if Obama and neo-liberals have their way. So, do we allow anti-trust/monopolies created by consolidations cause rates to soar and soak Maryland consumers and keep many people from accessing basic communications services, or do we make these corporations operate in the public interest before millions of consumer dollars are fleeced and thousands of complaints made.
A PUBLIC SERVICE MEANS THE PUBLIC IS SERVED. IT DOES NOT MEAN THE PUBLIC IS CONSTANTLY HAVING TO SUFFER FROM LACK OF SERVICE OR POOR SERVICE WHILE PAYING EVER-HIGhER RATES.
This happens in Maryland because neo-liberals work for corporations and profit and not you and I.
When HighStar's/Hopkins VEOLA ENVIRONMENT is ready to privatize water and waste------first all of the infrastructure has to be built with public money-----it will be this Maryland Public Services Commission that OK's the privatization.
Over 300 Complaints: Maryland Public Service Commission Goes After Verizon
By Meg Marco August 9, 2007
Verizon has violated Maryland state regulations by missing more than 20% of its scheduled appointments in 5 of the first 6 months of 2007, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The Maryland Public Service Commission ordered Verizon to turn over certain documents and attend a hearing after they received over 300 complaints from consumers in a 6 month period—an increase of 50% from last year.
From the Baltimore Sun:
Leigh A. Hyer, Verizon Maryland’s general counsel, said the company was exceeding other state standards, such as the number of complaints it logs from customers about their phone lines. Some of the missed appointments, she said, could be the result of a crew showing up 10 minutes late. The company said it records all late and canceled appointments as missed in its reports to the state.
“We provide good, quality service, and in the scheme of things the number of complaints is low,” Hyer said. “We don’t believe there is a service crisis.”
But regulators said no one would have called the commission about minor complaints.
“We didn’t call this hearing because we got calls your technician was 10 minutes late,” said Commissioner Lawrence Brenner. “We got 300 calls from people who waited days, sometimes weeks.”
See the expression on PSC Chairman Steven B. Larsen’s face as he listens to Hyer’s testimony? That’s called “Verizon face.” It’s the face you make when you have to deal with Verizon.
Do you have “Verizon Face?” If so, take a picture and submit it to our Flickr pool. Tag it “Verizon Face.”
Verizon says it missed over 20% of service calls [Baltimore Sun] (Thanks, Robert!)
(Photo: Amy Davis)
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Everyone who lives in Baltimore knows how much fraud and corruption exists in public works but it is statewide. The amount of state and local revenue lost to fraud and corruption starts with this commission. The bidding process is so crony and pay-to-play that it makes Afghanistan look like a first world nation. It is incredible.
So, appointing people interested in serving the public is key to this commission. WE DO NOT WANT THE SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL crowd in this commission. We want a strong oversight and accountability and we want the entire state to feel represented in the distribution of these funds and in the awarding of work contracts. Right now that is absolutely captured by the Washington Beltway.
If a governor is working in the public interest he/she will be looking hard at the other members of this board. It is the Comptroller that identifies non-profit vs corporation designation and it is the Treasurer who oversees investments and whether they benefit the public or corporate profit. In both cases Maryland has a Treasurer and a Comptroller who work for corporations and profit.
Now, again, the public elects these Comptrollers and Treasurers that do not protect their interests but citizens are not given a choice in candidates running for the good of the people......just as with the Maryland Attorney General and Baltimore City Attorney.
THE GOVERNOR CAN USE HIS/HER OFFICE TO MAKE SURE OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE DOING THEIR DUTIES. IF CINDY WALSH SHOUTS THAT A PRIVATE NON-PROFIT IS A CORPORATION NEEDING TO PAY TAXES----THEN THE COMPTROLLER WILL BE PRESSURED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. IF THE GOVERNOR SHOUTS THAT THE STATE CONTRACTS ARE FILLED WITH FRAUD AND CORRUPTION, THEN THE TREASURER WILL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
We must replace the entire crony lot of politicians, but it is the Governor of Maryland who can make sure all agencies do their jobs for the citizens of Maryland.
Maryland Board of Public Works
From Wikipedia
The Board of Public Works is a three-member body consisting of the Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer of the state of Maryland in the United States. It oversees many aspects of the state's finances.
History and purpose
The board was established by the Maryland Constitution of 1864, replacing the Commissioners of Public Works and various other boards.[1] The board acts as a check on the power of the General Assembly[2] and also guarantees "that significant State expenditures are necessary and appropriate, fiscally responsible, fair, and lawful" and that "executive decisions are made responsibly and responsively".[1]
Duties
A unique institution amongst both the federal and U.S. state governments, the board is also quite powerful, possessing the final say in spending through loans approved by the Maryland General Assembly and in capital improvements (except roads and bridges). In addition, the board has the authority to borrow money and provide supplemental funding for state agencies. All state land purchases are carried out by the board and all contracts for office space and leases are approved by the board. While the state legislature is not in session, the board takes up many of its fiscal responsibilities in ensuring the operation of the state government.[2]
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