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Cut-flower growers seek sales-tax parity with other farm products; sponsors to work on fiscal-note scope
Summary
Flower farmers urged lawmakers to exempt direct retail cut-flower sales by farmers from sales tax, arguing current policy treats cut flowers differently than other farm products and impedes small growers; sponsors said they would amend the bill to limit scope to Maryland growers to address a large fiscal note.
Delegate Schmidt and witnesses from the Maryland Cut Flower Growers Association told the Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 6 that House Bill 461 would treat cut flowers sold directly by Maryland farmers like other farm products and exempt them from sales tax.
David Brunton, a Millersville flower farmer and member of the Maryland Cut Flower Growers Association, said the number of Maryland cut-flower farms has more than doubled between 2017 and 2022 and that selling cut flowers at farm stands is an important part of small-farm viability. He and other witnesses said treating cut flowers differently from other farm crops creates friction for consumers and growers and discourages small producers.
Witnesses asked the committee to amend the bill to apply only to Maryland farmers selling their own cut flowers and to exclude imported or wholesale florist sales from the exemption; they said an initial fiscal note used national import figures that overstated the local revenue impact and that a narrower scope would yield a much smaller fiscal effect.
Lauren Eulig, president of the Maryland Cut Flower Growers Association, urged a targeted amendment to align the fiscal estimate to in-state farmer sales. Committee members asked clarifying questions about the current tax treatment. The sponsor asked for a favorable report and said staff would work on amendments to narrow the bill's scope to farmers' direct retail sales.
No formal vote was recorded at the hearing.
