AAA Bond Rating
Maryland State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp announced last week that all three major bond rating agencies again have affirmed the State’s strong Triple AAA bond rating in preparation for the sale of $400 million of General Obligation bonds.
Maryland is one of only seven states to be awarded the AAA rating, the highest possible rating, from all three major bond rating agencies: Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s. The rating means that the State can borrow money to undertake new critical building projects such as public schools, hospitals and prisons while paying relatively low interest rates and saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
The Maryland Board of Public Works, comprising Governor Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Kopp, completed the successful sale of $400 million of General Obligation bonds. The bonds sold at an interest rate of 4.14%. The winning bidder was Merrill Lynch & Company. The sale occurred during the bi-weekly meeting of the State’s Board of Public Works.
Proceeds from the capital improvement bonds will cover the acquisition and construction of State facilities; public schools; community colleges; jails and correctional facilities, as well as grants to local governments and non-profit institutions for hospitals, cultural and other projects.
Computer Service Tax
Thank you to all that attended the rally on Wednesday against the 6% tax on computer services. This was a law that was unfairly placed on computer services during the Special Session. I hope that the majority of the General Assembly realizes the potential harm that this tax will do. Remember the move of Maryland National Bank’s credit card company’s MBNA that moved to Delaware because of the tax burden? I hope that the Assembly has more wisdom than greed in understanding the potential loss of computer service business in our state.
Comments Off
Entries (RSS)