A relatively small number of wealthy families have had a significant impact on Montgomery County’s finances, outgoing executive Isiah Leggett (D) said on Monday, and he warned that residents better understand the “ripple effect” high-income people have in the day-to-day operations of Maryland’s largest subdivision.
The three-term executive, who leaves office in less than a month, said that a few dozen super-wealthy residents blew a nearly $80 million hole in the county’s budget projections simply by following the recommendations of their financial advisers.
“As the Trump administration started to talk about a change in federal tax policy, the tax advisers for many people around the state told them, ‘Do not take capital gains, do not sell your business [or] your stock, do not do any of those things. Wait until the next year because next year you’re going to get much more favorable treatment as a result.’” Leggett said.
The impact, he said, was a drop in income tax receipts, a phenomenon that also took place in Howard, Talbot and Baltimore counties, which are among Maryland’s other wealthier jurisdictions.
“The number of people who caused that $79 million problem was about 50 people, because they are very wealthy,” Leggett said. “One of the challenges in the county we have now is keeping those very wealthy people [here].
Click here to read the rest f the article written by Bruce DePuyt over at Maryland Matters