Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, has been sued by a group of business owners who say a new fee passed earlier this year by the county council and allowed to become law by County Executive Aisha Braveboy is illegal.
The law, passed in the spring, assesses a $5,000 annual fee on the owners of liquor stores, tobacco stores, gun stores and consolidated storage businesses. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say the council dubbed it as a 鈥渦se and occupancy鈥� fee, but that it鈥檚 actually a tax, and that under state law, the county can鈥檛 assess that without state permission.
Other businesses can continue to pay the one-time fee of $370.
鈥淚t’s an illegal tax,鈥� said Tim Maloney, the lawyer representing the 50-plus businesses that are part of the lawsuit. 鈥淭he county has no authority to impose a special tax on liquor stores, or storage facilities, or gun ranges, or vape shops, any of those things.”
A spokesperson for County Executive Aisha Braveboy declined to comment. The law was never signed by her, but she told 91欧美激情 shortly after the legislation passed that she wouldn鈥檛 veto it because of the supermajority that passed it.
鈥淲e always have to balance what we want and desire as a county with the practical realities of business,鈥� Braveboy said after the legislation passed but before it became law.
At the time, she said she wasn鈥檛 going to veto the bill, and knew that meant the county would have to defend it in court.
鈥淭he reality is it passed with a super majority of the council鈥檚 support,” she said.
鈥淚 think it’s profoundly unfair, and they’ve been singled out,鈥� Maloney said. 鈥淭here’s no question they’ve been denied equal protection because everybody else is going to pay a use and occupancy permit 鈥� on a one-time basis, and they’re being asked to pay an annual $5,000 fee. So that’s discrimination on its face.鈥�
The lawsuit argues that under state law, fees can only be used to defray regulatory costs, but that this annual fee, which will go up in coming years, will be used to fund a quality of life improvement fund in the county, putting it in violation of state taxing authority.
鈥淭he State has not authorized Prince George鈥檚 County to impose a tax or an impact fee upon alcoholic beverage stores, tobacco and electronic cigarette stores, stores that sell firearms, and self-storage facilities,鈥� the lawsuit goes on to say.
The argument for the bill was led by Council Chair Krystal Oriadha, who said that those businesses 鈥渉ave a particularly detrimental impact upon Prince George鈥檚 County鈥檚 quality of life.鈥�
The public hearing before the law was passed on a 9-2 vote got heated, as Oriadha and other members of the council pressed business owners on where they lived and how strong their ties to the community were.
The two votes against the measure came from at-large council member Jolene Ivey and Sydney Harrison, who represents the county鈥檚 9th District but won the primary for the other at-large seat next year. Both of them cited concerns about the legality of the legislation as the reason why they voted against it.
鈥淚 don’t think this one’s a particularly close call,鈥� Maloney said. 鈥淓ven the county council staff, when they were passing it, pointed out that there were significant legal problems, and this had never been attempted anywhere else.鈥�
While it鈥檚 the county being sued, Braveboy鈥檚 office initially deferred comment to the County Council. Council Chair Oriadha did not yet respond to a message from 91欧美激情.
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