Please contact your Maryland Representative or Senator,
As a veteran and a member of the world's largest veterans organization we hope to let you know how we veterans feel about important legislation.
There are three bills that are of interest to our organization and our community, they are SB102 Gaming-Slot, SB112 Income Tax Subtraction and SB113 Sales and Use Tax-Exemption.
While SB102 Gaming -Slot Machines will probably never come to Montgomery County, please support this legislation. The American Legion has donated hundreds of throusands of dollars to groups from funds donated from slot machines on the eastern shore. Without these slots many programs will go unfunded. Of course, if we had them in Montgomery County we could use the proceeds to better serve the community.
SB112 Income Tax Subtraction is to Removie the $5,000 limitation on the amount of specified military retirement income that may be subtracted from federal adjusted gross income for Maryland income tax purposes; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008; etc. As a US Army retiree that only receives little over $1000 a month this will greatly help me and many more retirees to survive during these tough times. Please don't make up a budget shortfall on the back of retirees who have served our country.
SB113 Sales and Use Tax-Exemption allows our organization to save precious dollars in purchasing items that we use to serve the community through our programs. Enabling our funds to do more for the community.
I have been told by many Legislatures that our biggest problem is that when someone comes to testify on our bills in the past that very few show up to show support for our bills. My goal this year is to get as many Legion Caps as possible walking the hallways of the Senate Office Building that day as possible.
We all need to be there by 11am and visiting our local Senators Offices and asking for their support on our bills.
Visitors need to park at the Navy-Marine Stadium on Rowe Blvd and catch the shuttle bus down to the Capital area. If we as Legionnaires and veterans, do not show up in force then we will only have ourselves to blame if we do not win support for our programs.
For the Veteran!
Bob Ouellette
