MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                         3007

governments involved, General Assembly representatives
from the area, appropriate State education agencies, the
Department of State Planning, and the Governor's Office
within the group making the study and that the Council
include its findings and recommendations in its annual
report to be presented to the Governor and the Maryland
General Assembly in January, 1975.

Approved April 30, 1974.

No. 23

(Senate Joint Resolution 28)
A Senate Joint Resolution concerning

Social Security Benefits - State Employees

FOR the purpose of requesting the Governor of Maryland to
appoint a task force to study the feasibility of the
State of Maryland terminating participation of State
employees and teachers in the federal social
security system and providing additional benefits to
the members of the State pension systems in lieu of
social security benefits.

WHEREAS, Federal social security taxes are levied on
employment income without any exemptions and therefore
the tax burden falls more heavily on the lower income
employee, while an income ceiling is established for
higher income employees, but the benefits payable under
the social security system are only loosely related to
the amount of taxes paid; and

WHEREAS, The combined tax payable by the employer
and the employee for 1971 was $811.20 ($405.60 payable by
the employer and the same amount by the employee) and the
tax will be for 1974 the sum of $1,544.40 ($772.20
payable by the employer and the same amount by the
employee), an increase of more than 90% in the four year
period; and

WHEREAS, The effect of the rising social security
tax rate on the employee is that some State employees are
paying more in social security taxes than they pay in
federal income taxes; and

WHEREAS, The total impact of social security taxes
on the State government, State employees, and teachers
will require the payment of $160 million by fiscal 1976;
and