12 REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY

From the time this department was officially opened (May 19th,
1947) to and including June 30, 1948, a total of 57,154 Retail Sales
Tax Licenses were issued. Of this total 27,637 licenses were issued
to Baltimore City vendors, 26,939 licenses to County vendors and
2,578 licenses to out of State vendors.

Each month an average of 45,000 returns are received via mail
and processed through the various operations of is accounting
and statistical departments. Tax monies are handled currently
and even at the peak period of our incoming mail (10th to 15th of
each month) all tax monies are on deposit with the bank within ten
days.

Statement "B-7" of this report shows the amount of tax collected
from the various Counties and Baltimore City.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT FOR ANNUAL BUDGETS:

At the 1947 Session you enacted Chapter 497, the purpose of
which is to submit to the voters, at the November 2, 1948 election,
a proposal to amend the Constitution to provide for annual meet-
ings of the Legislature, so that annual budgets can be passed and the
State's fiscal problems made easier because of our only having to
estimate revenues for one Fiscal Year rather than two Fiscal Years,
as under the present arrangement. Our office is definitely on record
as heartily favoring this amendment to the Constitution because
we believe present conditions require a more current estimating of
revenues and expenditures. Economic conditions are more subject
to change than they were several decades ago, and it is necessary,
in order to keep up with changing conditions, that the State's fiscal
operations be predicated on the basis of a single year rather than a
biennium, in the laying of our plans for financing the cost of State
Government. We feel that the passage of this proposed amendment
will greatly benefit the State in its fiscal operations.

CONCLUSION:

You are urged to review the statements that follow in this report.
We believe we have covered in them a comprehensive review of all
of the fiscal activities of the State, and even though you do not find
it possible to give careful study to all of the various statements we
do believe it will be helpful if you would merely acquaint yourselves
with the fact that a complete story of the State's finances is told in
the statements, so that at any time you will be able to know, in case
any question should arise in your mind regarding fiscal matters,
that you are very likely to find the information you want in this
report.

Respectfully submitted,

JAMES J. LACY,

Comptroller.