foxbaltimore.com · WBFF · September 9, 2026
After $1.6B tax, fee increase, Wes Moore won’t rule out more hikes next year
# After $1.6B tax, fee increase, Wes Moore won’t rule out more hikes next year
by GARY COLLINS | Spotlight on Maryland
Tue, September 8, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Updated Tue, September 8, 2026 at 11:04 PM
7 VIEW ALL PHOTOS
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore stops at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, Md., on Friday, September 4, 2026, as part of his "Delivering for Maryland" tour. (Ben Otte/WBFF)
TIMONIUM, Md. (WBFF) — Gov. Wes Moore declined to rule out additional tax or fee increases next year as Maryland confronts another multibillion-dollar budget gap.
Pressed by Spotlight on Maryland during a Friday visit to the Maryland State Fair on whether he would commit to no new tax or fee increases during the 2027 legislative session, Moore did not make that pledge.
The exchange comes after Moore signed a budget in 2025 that included roughly $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees and as his administration prepares for another difficult budget cycle. State projections show a roughly $2.7 billion shortfall for fiscal 2028, the budget lawmakers will begin considering when they return to Annapolis in January.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore leads a golf cart motorcade through the perimeter of the Maryland State Farm in Timonium, Md., on Friday, September 4, 2026. (Office of Gov. Wes Moore)
Asked after a staged photo op at a barn where the governor served ice cream, mostly to state workers wearing their agency shirts or state credentials, Moore pointed to tax reductions he said have been enacted under his administration
> We are going to continue to do everything in our power to be able to relieve the pressure off of these families and make sure they can get the supports they need,” Moore said to Spotlight on Maryland.
Without a clear answer, Moore was asked again whether he would vow not to raise or even cut taxes and fees for Marylanders.
“We’ve been very proud of the fact that we have been able to give the middle class and working families a tax cut inside of the state of Maryland,” Moore said. “We’re going to continue to focus on how we’re going to make life more affordable for the people of our state.
## Moore goes to the State Fair
Moore’s comments came during his latest “ Delivering for Maryland” tour stop at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, where he spoke to farmers, agricultural professionals, state employees and invited guests about affordability, state policy and the economy.
Earlier in the day, Moore delivered a more than 10-minute speech to approximately 100 attendees at the annual Agriculture Day Governor’s Luncheon.
“Frankly, I was one of those kids that came to the Maryland State Fair, and enjoyed the rides, and loved getting my fried Oreos,” Moore said, “but I don’t know if I have the fullest appreciation of everything that our ag community and farmers do every single day to make this state go.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore provides remarks at the annual Agriculture Day Governor’s Luncheon at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Md., on Friday, September 4, 2026. (Ben Otte/WBFF)
According to Moore’s biography, his father died of acute epiglottitis when Moore was 3 years old, while the family was living in Takoma Park, a Maryland suburb outside of Washington, D.C.
Two years later, in the summer of 1984, Moore’s mother moved the family to New York City to live with her parents. The governor went on to attend Riverdale Country School, an elite private school that was ranked the second-best private K-12 institution in the country in 2026, according to a website called Niche that evaluates private education.
Moore’s namesake book, The Other Wes Moore, said that his mother enrolled him in Valley Forge Military Academy and College after his grades began to slip and he was purportedly involved in petty crime.
The governor did not elaborate for the audience on when he would have attended the state fair at the typical start of school, nearly 200 miles south of where he mainly grew up.
Moore pivoted his remarks to discussing policy decisions that affect farmers, agricultural businesses, and Maryland households.
> Sometimes on a state or local level, where there are policies that are intended to help but are sometimes turning around and hurting,” Moore said. “We get it.
“Even in times when we haven’t gotten it right, I want to let you know you’re always going to have a part with us in trying to figure out how to do it better,” Moore added.
He later said that his administration would consider adjustments to make operations easier for Maryland farmers.
Following his speech, Moore moved through the fairgrounds with state employees, staff members and Cabinet secretaries in a group of golf carts. Spotlight on Maryland and a radio outlet accompanied the entourage.
After Moore served ice cream to most of the people in his golf cart motorcade, posing for pictures with his team as if it were an impromptu moment, he emerged from the ice cream shop with fried Oreos in hand.
Mostly state employees lined up outside an ice cream shop where Maryland Gov. Wes Moore served ice cream at the Maryland State Fair on Friday, September 4, 2026. (Ben Otte/WBFF)
Afterward, Spotlight on Maryland asked him whether Marylanders struggling with costs could expect a reprieve from additional taxes and fees next year.
Moore again pointed to his administration’s record.
He said his administration is “willing to do anything and everything” to be able to support the state’s agricultural community “and also support our working families.”
Moore also said this was exemplified by his administration “[giving] a tax cut to working families and [giving] a tax cut to middle-class families.”
When Spotlight on Maryland noted that the tax cut provided to some Marylanders resulted in minimal savings – approximately less than $10 a month – and fees that have risen significantly, Moore doubled down.
> All the data seems to reinforce that we’ve been able to put hundreds of dollars back into the pockets of our families in utility relief as they seen energy bills continue to move up and skyrocket,” Moore said.
The governor did not directly answer whether he planned to reduce recently increased taxes or fees or whether he would rule out additional increases.
## Major tax, fee hikes in 2025
In 2025, Moore signed a budget package containing a series of tax and fee increases.
They included higher vehicle registration and title fees, a $5-per-tire fee, an increase in the cannabis sales tax, higher taxes on vaping products and cigarettes, an increase in the vehicle excise tax for vehicles costing $50,000 or more, and new surcharges for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The state also imposed a new tax on certain information technology and data services. Revenue from that tax has come in well below initial expectations.
Those increases came alongside income-tax changes that Moore and legislative leaders said would provide relief to many working- and middle-class Marylanders.
Spotlight on Maryland's investigative journalist Gary Collins pressed Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, on Friday, September 4, 2026, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds to ask whether he would vow not to propose new taxes and fee hikes for state residents during the next legislative session. (Ben Otte/WBFF)
When asked questions to find out what taxpayers should expect next, Moore said the state must balance its spending needs with affordability.
> We want to make sure that we have the supports to be able to continue to invest in our infrastructure and make sure it’s not falling apart,” Moore said. “But we cannot do it on the backs of working families.”
The governor did not clearly answer whether tax or fee hikes could be looming next year.
## Another multibillion-dollar gap approaches
The question of whether Maryland could turn again to taxes and fees comes as state budget projections show structural deficits continuing through the end of the decade.