House has ?more progressive? plan

Democratic House leaders unveiled a $1.2 billion plan Friday to tax repair services from cars to carpet, double the state?s hotel tax, and create new, more progressive income tax brackets.

The package approved by a House committee is a dramatic departure from the plan adopted in the Maryland Senate, which includes taxes on computer services and video game arcades. The House?s package sets three new income tax brackets ranging from 5.25 percent to 5.75 percent and increases personal exemptions for lower- and middle-class households.