By Adam Pagnucco.
The day after County Executive Marc Elrich proposed replacing his recommended property tax hike with a retroactive income tax hike, Council Member Andrew Friedson has released a statement opposing it. Friedson previously opposed Elrich’s property tax increase on the very day it was announced. He was later followed by Council Members Laurie-Anne Sayles and Evan Glass.
Council President Kate Stewart told Bethesda Today that “she had told Elrich that there was not enough council support to pass a property tax rate increase.” So if Stewart was correct, is there enough support to pass an income tax increase?
Stewart also told Bethesda Today, “Elrich had not sent information about his proposed changes beyond the letter, and that the council also was not provided with details about how the estimated tax revenue was determined.” Elrich said in his memo to the council that the income tax hike “coupled with the other revisions to the State’s tax code, is preliminarily estimated to generate between $70 and $80 million for County government in FY26 and $60 to $70 million annually thereafter.” That’s more than the extra $56 million that the property tax increase would have generated. So in the face of Trump’s devastation of the local economy and the state’s crushing income tax hike, it seems that Elrich wants to raise taxes even more than he did a month ago.
Following is the text of Friedson’s statement.
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The County Executive indicated this week that he is rescinding his proposal to raise property taxes as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget, a proposal I stated publicly I would not support in March. Swapping one tax increase for another tax increase is not an appropriate solution as families are struggling in deeply uncertain times.
Montgomery County families are already facing real economic anxiety and uncertainty, and retroactively taxing them for past income is not a reasonable way to address our budget challenges. With so many families affected by Trump Administration’s attack on federal workers, it is wrong to even consider a proposal that could re-tax workers on income from jobs they no longer have, and as their living costs are going up and their retirement savings are going down.
The County Executive’s plan not only looks backwards, it would also send our county backwards, making us less affordable and less competitive.
Due to continued rising property assessments, Montgomery County is already generating more revenue from county taxpayers — it’s our responsibility to fund schools, public safety, transportation, parks, and libraries, while living within our means and without adding additional costs on residents.
