Sales Tax

People shopping in Maryland can enjoy a tax-free shopping week on clothes and footwear from Aug. 8 to 14. Joe Shapiro, director of communications for the Maryland comptroller's office, said items have to cost $100 or less to be exempt from the state's sales tax. Maryland's sales tax is 6 percent on all taxable goods, and Shapiro said Maryland will feel the lack of sales tax. "We won't be collecting on those items, and there will be...

After working for a state senator, then an organization that promotes conservative governance, Michael Hough is running for office for the first time. Hough -- one of three candidates for Maryland's Subdistrict 3B delegate seat -- said his two biggest concerns are taxes and jobs. He favors rolling back the package of tax increases passed during the 2007 Maryland General Assembly special session, most notably the increase in sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. Hough, a Republican, has signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.

Among state lawmakers representing Washington County, only George C. Edwards has no opposition in this year's election. Edwards, 62, of Grantsville, Md., is seeking a second term as state senator. State senators serve four-year terms and are paid $43,000 a year. Previously, he served six terms as a delegate, and he has held county and town elected offices. Edwards is the state senator for District 1, which covers Garrett and Allegany counties and part of Washington County.

Munson updates residents on 2010 legislative session To the editor: I wanted to take the opportunity to share with the citizens of Washington County an update about the recent legislative session and important legislation I have supported in these challenging economic times. From protecting our Second Amendment rights to reducing the tax burden on working families and businesses, refuting state-funded public abortion, requiring only U.S. citizens work on State of Maryland contracts and toughening penalties on child sexual predators, I have diligently worked to promote a conservative agenda that will improve the lives of the people of Washington County and throughout the State of Maryland.

FANNETTSBURG, PA. -- One of the few contested races for Franklin County, Pa., voters going to the polls for the May 18 primary election will be in the 86th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The 86th District serves Franklin and Perry counties, including parts or all of Fannett, Hamilton, Metal, St. Thomas and Peters townships. Republican Mark Keller has held the seat since he first was elected in 2004. Republican Michael J. Lapp of Newport, Pa., filed to run against Keller, as he did two years ago. Lapp said he took lessons from that failed bid and applied them to this campaign.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich wants his old job back, and he's challenging the Democrat who ousted him four years ago in a rematch testing whether a blend of GOP, tea party and independent voters can make a difference in heavily Democratic Maryland. Ehrlich launched his candidacy Wednesday in Montgomery County, the state's largest jurisdiction and a key battleground as the home of nearly a quarter of the state's registered independent voters. At a rally in Rockville with about 100 supporters, Ehrlich contrasted himself with Gov. Martin O'Malley by saying he wants to cut the state's sales tax, which was raised from 5 percent to 6 percent under the O'Malley administration.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Washington County's economy is starting to gain strength in the retail sector -- just in time for Christmas, according to the latest sales tax collections data. In the first nine months of this year, spending fell 4.5 percent across all kinds of business in the county compared to the same period a year ago, according to a Herald-Mail analysis of the data. But in the general merchandise category -- department, discount, sporting goods, toys and other such stores -- sales actually held steady from January through September compared to a year ago, the data shows.

MONT ALTO, Pa. - The Nicodemus Center for Ceramic Studies at Penn State Mont Alto will be offering the 10th piece in its annual series of Bell family pottery reproductions this fall. The series features one reproduction per year in a limited edition of 150. This year's reproduction is a lidded salt-glazed stoneware canning jar with cobalt blue tulip decorations, created by the center's executive director and ceramist James Smith of Fayetteville, Pa. The original jar was made in John Bell's Waynesboro, Pa., shop between the mid-1850s and 1880.