ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 8, 2006)-Comptroller of Maryland William Donald Schaefer today applauded a recent decision by the Court of Special Appeals which rejected a tax protestor's challenge to a state law that denies the renewal of certain professional and business licenses for failure to pay certain undisputed state taxes. The challenge was made in 2004 by Dr. William Knoche-a dentist, previously convicted of failing to file tax returns, and who had not filed a tax return since at least 1980-whose license to practice was not renewed by the State Board of Dental Examiners that year due to his outstanding tax liabilities.
The court rejected Dr. Knoche's claim that the 2003 statute denied him due process because it contained no provision for a separate hearing by the board prior to the denial of his license renewal. The court accepted the Comptroller's defense that Dr. Knoche's failure to contest his tax liability with the Comptroller's office or the Maryland Tax Court amounted to a waiver of his due process rights.
"The court's decision should send a clear signal that the law is firm: if you don't pay your taxes, you won't get your professional license renewed," said Comptroller Schaefer. "This law has been a valuable tool in collecting taxes owed to the state."
Comptroller Schaefer says his office has collected more than $121.7 million in the three years since the law went into effect on July 1, 2003.
The law, strongly supported by Comptroller Schaefer and passed by the General Assembly in 2003, mandates the Comptroller's Office, clerks of the Circuit Court, Departments of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Health and Mental Hygiene, Natural Resources and Environment, along with the Motor Vehicle Administration, verify that an applicant's tax liabilities have been paid or a satisfactory payment plan arranged for a license renewal to be processed. A similar law passed in 2005 imposed the same requirements on the Maryland Insurance Administration. Drivers' licenses and vehicle registration renewals are excluded from this requirement.
CONTACT:
Michael D. Golden, 410-260-7305
Kevin P. Kane, 410-260-7578
