Legislative volunteers and staff with the Maryland Association of CPAs joined Gov. Wes Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and other state officials and dignitaries on May 8 as Moore signed a number of bills into law in Annapolis.

Among the bills that Moore signed were Senate Bill 660 / House Bill 707, "Office of the Comptroller Taxpayer Advocate Division," which creates a Taxpayer Advocate Division within the Office of the Comptroller “to assist taxpayers and their representatives in resolving certain taxpayer problems and complaints and represent taxpayers' interests in a certain manner.” Members of the MACPA’s Tax Community have supported the creation of a Taxpayer Advocate in Maryland for years. This year, they finally had the opportunity to formalize that support.

Moore also signed into law Senate Bill 240, "Income Tax – Out-of-State Taxes Paid By Pass-Through Entities – Addition Modification," which provides “an addition modification under the Maryland income tax for the amount of a certain tax credit claimed for certain taxes paid to another state by a pass-through entity.” MACPA volunteers were instrumental in helping to draft amending language for this bill.

Among those pictured in the middle row above are Karen Syrylo (third from left), former chair of the MACPA's State Tax Committee and member of the MACPA's Legislative Executive Committee; MACPA CEO Rebekah Olson (third from right); and Mary Beth Halpern (second from right), the MACPA's director of Technical Services and Regulatory Affairs.