Afternoon Read: Same Sex-Marriage Could Bring Big Money to Maryland, Study Finds

A new economic analysis found that the legalization of same-sex marriages would bring more than $90 million per year to Maryland’s economy.

According to the Gazette.net, the research -- conducted by the Williams Institute think tank -- found that in a three-year span, wedding-related businesses could bring in an additional $21 million per year from same-sex couples living in Maryland, and another $73 million from couples traveling from out-of-state to get married.

Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that any economic bump would only be temporary.

Maryland legalized same-sex marriages during this legislative session, but opponents are expected to gather enough petition signatures to trigger a referendum and put the issue to vote.

Here’s a funny picture -- courtesy of Washington City Paper-- of D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry’s reaction to mistakenly being introduced as former Mayor Antony Williams.

* The latest reports show that Democratic Senate hopeful Tim Kaine outraised his likely GOP opponent George Allen among Virginia donors during the first quarter of 2012.

According to The National Journal, Kaine raised a total of $1.1 million in Virginia during the period. Allen’s financial reports were not broken down completely by state, but he raised $542,000 in individual itemized donations from Virginia and $131,000 in unitemized donations from everywhere.

* The Thomas Jefferson Institute has come up with plans that would reconfigure Virginia’s taxes and generate more revenue for the state.

The new study, “Tax Restructuring in Virginia,” reorganizes Virginia’s tax code by taxing services and using the proceeds to roll back business and income taxes, according to Bacon’s Rebellion.

This would stimulate $340 million in additional investment and create 77,000 jobs and increase real disposable income by $2.78 bilion.

The study explored nine different taxing scenarios. One of them assumes the state sales tax would be extended to all services currently exempt, except health care. This means that college tuition would be taxed. Read the full story here.

* Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Celtic rock band just booked another high-profile gig.

According to The Washington Post, O’Malley’s March is booked for June 17 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as part of Maryland’s War of 1812 bicentennial commemoration:

“O’Malley is a War of 1812 buff, and it’s almost certain that his band’s set will include “Battle of Baltimore,” a song penned by the governor about Baltimore residents who stood up to invading British troops.”

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