REPORT

OF THE

COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY

OF THE

STATE OF MARYLAND

December 18, 1941.

To His Excellency
HERBERT R. O'CONOR,
Governor of Maryland

In obedience to the provisions of Section 9 of Article 19 of the
Annotated Code of Maryland, I am submitting herewith my report
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1941. The form of the re-
port is substantially the same as that for the preceding year. It
has been my purpose to have the report as complete as possible, yet
as condensed as possible. I do not feel that the inclusion of a mass
of figures, representing the detailed records of the office, in which
very few, if any, persons would be interested, is desirable and there-
fore it has been left out.

The fiscal year 1941 was unusual in many respects. There was
very little connected with it, reviewing it at this time, that can be
considered normal; and the experience of that year, with the uncer-
tainty existing at this time because of the effect the war in which we
are engaged will have on the economic situation, makes it very
difficult to forecast the State's fiscal situation for the year which
will end on September 30, 1942.

The figure in our statement which is always of most interest is the
general fund surplus existing at the end of the fiscal period. We ended
the fiscal year 1941. with a surplus of $9, 119, 270. 57, as compared
with an estimate made in December, 1940, of $7, 556, 665. 25, which
estimate was revised because of changes made in revenue laws,
particularly the income tax law, at the 1941 Session of the General
Assembly, to reduce it to $5, 392, 665. 25. However, as we all know
now, the revenue situation became even better than we could have
ever imagined, and we were very fortunate in closing the year with
the unprecedented surplus of $9, 119, 270. 57.