1970s

The first high-rise
condominium in
Ocean City opened
in 1971.

In 1978,

working

parents in

Maryland

began enjoying

a new state

income tax

break for child

care costs.

A

.s America witnessed political
changes and rising costs during the
1970s, the State Comptroller's
Office continued its quest for high-
tech efficiency.

At the start of the decade, the
agency processed 1.5 million
income tax returns, and a newly
implemented automated sales tax

The State Comptroller's Office was actively seeking pioneering
technology as far back as the 1970s to boost efficiency, evidenced by
step-saving remittance processing equipment studied by Jim Loftus
(left) and Eleanor Lent of the Retail Sales Tax Division.
Photo by Michael Walsh

system reaped nearly $360 million
in revenue.

In 1975, the Comptroller's
Office moved ahead in computer-
ization by introducing an optical
character reader to streamline the
processing of income tax withhold-
ing documents.

The year also marked the
opening in New York of the
agency's first out-of-state field
office, where auditors could track

23

large corporations with Maryland

tax obligations.

Two years later, a tape match

program the comptroller conducts

annually with the IRS netted $1

million in new revenue.

The Maryland legislature

increased the state sales tax rate to

5% in 1977, generating a total of
$628 million
during fiscal
year 1978.
Also that year,
income tax
revenues
topped the $1
billion mark.
To handle the
increased
paperwork
more effi-
ciently, the
comptroller
installed
automatic
check encod-
ing equipment
to streamline
depositing of
income tax
revenue and to earn additional
interest income for the state.