Maryland Governor Taxes Rain
Matthew Boyle

Maryland Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley has instituted a tax on citizens for the amount of rain that falls on their property.

The tax, officially known as a "storm water management fee," will be enforced in nine of the state's counties. The state legislature passed it in 2012 purportedly to "raise revenue to cleanup [sic] the Chesapeake Bay," according to MarylandReporter.com.

Former 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino bashes the tax in a Wednesday afternoon press release. The law "requires individuals, businesses, and even charitable organizations and houses of worship to pay a tax based on the amount of rain that falls on their property and the 'impervious surfaces' on their land," he says.

The tax, mandated by the EPA and enforced locally, will be calculated "through satellite surveillance of your property," the statement claims.

Bongino blasts "out of touch political aristocrats in Maryland will do anything to diminish your economic liberty and starve your wallet while padding theirs." 

According to the conservative organization Change Maryland, the rain tax will cost Marylanders about $300 million annually.

Governor O'Malley famously tried increasing taxes to balance the state's budget with little success in 2007. The increase in the top marginal tax rate, known as a "millionaire's tax," cost Maryland $1.7 billion in lost tax revenue, according to Change Maryland. Between 2007 and 2010, the state population suffered a net loss of 31,000 people.

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