‘I want to build a tax base in Baltimore’: Ron George

Six of seven candidates vying for the Maryland governorship in 2014 spent the morning of April 21 explaining to business and tech leaders why they deserve the votes of the state’s business community.
It was the Gubernatorial Candidates Forum put on by the Tech Council of Maryland. (Only Republican candidate Larry Hogan did not attend the event.)
Technical.ly Baltimore has been posting the main talking points of each candidate who spoke at the two-hour forum in Bethesda, Md., as they relate to their thoughts on the innovation and tech economy in the state. (Find other candidates’ talking points here.)
Up today: Ron George.

• The basics: Republican and member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 30 in Anne Arundel County. He helped repeal the 6 percent “tech tax” in 2008.
• His one-liner: “I want to build a tax base in Baltimore.”
• Three points:
  • George said he wants to find ways to bring manufacturing firms back to Baltimore in an effort to rebuild the city’s tax base. Specifics were minimal, but he said the Port of Baltimore and the city’s harbor would be key to his plan.
  • The owner of Ron George Jewelers, George noted that he starts people at his stores in Annapolis and Severna Park at $11 an hour, but said businesses — not Maryland government — should set the minimum wage.
  • As for Maryland’s corporate income tax rate of 8.25 percent, George said he wants to lower it to 6.25 percent in 2015, and then reduce it by a quarter-percent the next two years until it hits 5.75 percent.