State Comptroller's Office

Peter Franchot, Comptroller

About the Office of the Comptroller
The Comptroller is one of four statewide elected officials in Maryland. Unique among state financial officers, Maryland’s Comptroller has diverse and far-reaching responsibilities that touch the lives of every Marylander.

The Comptroller of Maryland is the:

chief financial officer for Maryland
collector of revenue for state programs
provider of information technology services for most state agencies
regulator of the state’s alcohol, tobacco and motor fuel industries
member of many state boards and commissions
Comptroller of Maryland Duties
By enforcing the collection of use tax, the comptroller's goal iSince the office was created by the Maryland Constitution of 1851, it has grown from a comptroller and one clerk to an agency of 1,100 employees. Peter Franchot, former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, was elected Maryland's 33rd comptroller in 2006.

The principal duty of this office is to collect taxes. With a budget of $110 million, the agency collects approximately $16 billion a year in state and local tax revenue and provides 12 branch offices throughout the state.

The major revenue sources are individual and business income taxes and sales and use taxes. The agency also collects taxes on motor fuel, estates, admissions and amusement, and alcohol and tobacco. It also tests motor fuel to ensure the quality of the product for the consumer.

To provide a level playing field for local businesses in competing with out-of-state retailers who sell through catalogs and on the Internet. Enforcement agents control the smuggling of untaxed cigarettes and alcohol into the state.

The comptroller audits taxpayers for compliance, handles delinquent tax collection, and enforces license and unclaimed property laws. The agency publicizes forgotten bank accounts, insurance benefits and other unclaimed assets of taxpayers.

The office provides information technology services critical to the daily operation of most state agencies. Acting as Maryland's chief accountant, the comptroller pays the state's bills, maintains its books, prepares financial reports, and pays state employees.

Contact the Comptroller Peter Franchot, Comptroller
E-mail Contact: pfranchot@comp.state.md.us
Mailing Address:
Comptroller of Maryland
80 Calvert Street
P.O. Box 466
Annapolis, MD 21404-0466
Local: 410-260-7801
Toll Free: 1-800-552-3941

THE STATE COMPTROLLER, THE STATE TREASURER, AND THE SECRETARY OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT ARE THE MAJOR MEMBERS OF THIS BOARD. WE ALL KNOW THAT STATE AND BALTIMORE CITY PENSIONS WERE PLACED IN HIGH-RISK FINANCIAL VEHICLES DURING THE 'HOUSE OF CARDS' ECONOMY BEFORE THE COLLAPSE. WALL STREET WAS MAKING TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AS THEY BUILT AN ECONOMY THEY KNEW WOULD CRASH AS WOULD THESE PENSIONS. ON WALL STREET YOU HEAR EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL AS STOCK PRICES CLIMB TO PRE-COLLAPSE LEVEL.......THAT IS ALL THAT WORRIES THESE GUYS.

GETTING PUBLIC MONEY OUT OF WALL STREET'S HANDS IS A PRIORITY. THESE PENSIONS ARE ONLY USED AS FODDER AND ARE OFTEN INVESTED IN BUSINESSES THAT EXPLOIT THE LABOR FORCE. SO, IF YOU ARE A STATE UNION EMPLOYEE, YOUR PENSION FUNDS OFTEN SUPPORT THE PROFIT-MAKING POLICY OF POVERTY WAGES.........IT IS BAD POLICY. NANCY KOPP RECENTLY LEFT THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY. THEY DID A CURSORY AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT AND GAVE IT A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH AND PRAISED HER SERVICE. WE KNOW WHEN A STATE IS RANKED AT THE BOTTOM FOR CORRUPTION AND TRANSPARENCY......THE TREASURY AND THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE IS GROUND ZERO.

VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT!

Waste Watch Wall Street Bankers Taking A Large Slice of State Worker's Pensions

The State Public Policy Institute analyzed how much the state of Maryland is paying investment advisers to manage the $37 billion state pension fund. Turns out MD pays over 200 million dollars a year to Wall Street.

That puts Maryland in the top 10 states in the country spending on investment fees.

Delegate Jill P Carter said, "I think it definitely should raise concerns, we're talking about money, we're talking about the future."

The report recommends that state put pension money in a cheaper "index fund" which pegs returns to the performance of the market.

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TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LIST OF BUSINESS TAX CREDITS TO SEE WHY MARYLAND HAS A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT THESE TAX CREDITS WERE INSTITUTED AT THE SAME TIME PUBLIC SECTOR PENSIONS WERE DEFUNDED AND THE TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND DISAPPEARED. YOU CAN SEE THE SHIFT FROM PEOPLE OVER TO PROFIT IN THE 1990s. IN THE THREE YEARS OBAMA AND O'MALLEY HAVE WORKED TOGETHER FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY FROM THE FINANCIAL COLLAPSE, APPROXIMATELY $3 TRILLION HAS GONE TO CORPORATIONS THROUGH THESE TAXES.

THIS IS WHY THEY ARE CUTTING OUR ENTITLEMENTS, OUR PUBLIC SERVICES, OUR UNIVERSITY TUITION GRANTS, AND SELLING OUR PUBLIC ASSETS AS PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.

MAKE NO MISTAKE, THE TAXPAYER IS PAYING FOR CORPORATE RESEARCH, HUMAN RESOURCE JOB-TRAINING, INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT. IN EXCHANGE THEY ARE PAYING LITTLE IF NO TAXES, CHARGING US 'MARKET PRICES' THAT ARE INFLATED, AND CO-OPTING OUR COMMUNITY WITH NON-PROFITS THAT USURP OUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.

WE HAVE LISTENED AS POLITICIANS ADMIT THAT LITTLE IF NO OVERSIGHT TO THIS PROCESS IS OCCURRING AND DEMANDS FOR INVESTIGATIONS AND RECOVERY OF WHAT WILL BE BILLIONS IN FRAUDULENT PAYMENTS OF THESE CREDITS HAS HAD TO BE DONE BY CITIZENS GROUPS!

Business Tax Credits Businesses in Maryland may be able to take advantage of several tax credits. Each of the tax credits are outlined in the A Guide to Business Tax Credits.

The guide offers a brief description of each credit and the appropriate contacts for obtaining more detailed information. Some of these tax credits may have additional requirements, carryover provisions or recapture provisions that are not included in the information provided in the guide. You should contact the appropriate agency to make sure that you meet all requirements. The information provided in the guide is general in nature and is not intended to replace the advice of your tax professional.

You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher to view the guide. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free online. If you are having problems viewing Adobe .PDF files, please see our special instructions.

Business Tax Credits
Bio-Heating Oil Tax Credit
Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit
Businesses that Create New Jobs Credit
Cellulosic Ethanol Technology Research and Development Tax Credit
Clean Energy Incentive Tax Credit
Community Investment Tax Credit
Commuter Tax Credit
Employer-Provided Long-Term Care Insurance Credit
Employment Opportunity Tax Credit
Enterprise Zone Tax Credit
Green Building Tax Credit
Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit
Job Creation Tax Credit
Job Creation and Recovery Tax Credit
Long-Term Employment of Ex-Felons Tax Credit
Maryland Disability Employment Tax Credit
Maryland-Mined Coal Tax Credit
One Maryland Economic Development Tax Credit
Research and Development Tax Credit
Sustainable Communities Tax Credit
Telecommunications Property Tax Credit
Water Quality Improvement Credit
Work-Based Learning Program Tax Credit