Franchot Talks Taxes at Chamber Meeting

As the state's top tax collector, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot  showed little appetite for tax increases at a speech in Towson on Thursday.

Franchot was the guest speaker at the November meeting of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce at the

Franchot talked about school infrastructure needs, such as construction and air conditioning, and how these changes could be made through creative renovations and smart use of money.

In August, he'd like to see Baltimore County install window units as a quick and inexpensive way to cool down schools.

"We could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year right now," Franchot said at the chamber meeting.

Franchot also decried the "smoke and mirrors" process of state budgeting, one that often includes borrowing from state pension funds and the transportation trust fund.

However, Franchot said he doesn't support raising taxes to fill the hole, especially taxes he called "regressive," including gambling revenues, the gasoline tax or the alcohol tax—which state legislators raised early this year.

Franchot received applause from the crowd of about 60 Baltimore County business leaders when he discussed his recent proposal to require all high school students to take a financial literacy course.