ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland officials estimate the ongoing federal government shutdown is affecting about 172,000 residents in the state.
The state’s Bureau of Revenue Estimates said Monday in a report that each biweekly payroll those residents are not paid results in about $778 million in lost wages. That results in roughly $57.5 million less in combined state and local income tax withholding and $2.1 million less in sales tax collections.
“Maryland is joined at the hip with the federal budget and our economy is very dependent on the federal government,” Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot told WTOP. “This shutdown, if it continues, is going to have a devastating impact on the Maryland state economy,”
Between 230,000 and 245,000 Maryland residents are federal employees. The report says about 90,000 Marylanders are either furloughed or working without pay. Some federal agencies are funded through other budget appropriations.
Franchot believes the shutdown could also impact the state economy by changing long-term spending habits.
“You try having a car loan or a mortgage or some other expense where you have to pay a bill and you don’t get a paycheck, it’s a big problem for 172,000 Maryland families,” Franchot said.
It’s estimated about half of the state’s 164,000 federal contractors are affected by the shutdown. The report says many of those workers are unlikely to be repaid once the government reopens.
“Some of these workers are not federal employees so they may or may not get reimbursed,” Franchot said.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
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