Gov. Wes Moore says nearly two-thirds of Maryland taxpayers will see their taxes reduced as a result of the proposed budget he releases Wednesday. However, nearly one in five could see increased taxes.

During an event in College Park Tuesday, Moore said his budget doesn’t raise sales or property taxes, it reduces the corporate tax rate, and it eliminates the state’s inheritance tax.

The goal, Moore said, is to make Maryland’s tax code “simpler” and “fairer.”

“I think for the people like myself who've done very, very well over these past years, yes, we are being asked to pay a little bit more, because we believe that that is going to help to ignite the kind of economic momentum and the data-driven momentum that people are looking for,” the governor told reporters at the event.

He declined to detail who would pay those higher taxes under his plan.

With his budget, Moore must close a nearly $3 billion deficit. Republicans in the legislature have said they firmly oppose using any tax increase to help close that deficit and are likely to fight those in Moore’s budget.

In addition to the tax changes, Moore announced several initiatives aimed at boosting economic growth, including $128.5 million in what the governor calls “targeted, strategic investments” for specific projects and programs across the public and private sectors. These include $15 million for Tradepoint Atlantic’s Terminal Container Project; $6 million to assist small- and mid-sized manufacturing companies; $7.5 million for the Downtown Frederick Hotel and Conference Center project; and $27.5 million toward a partnership between the state, the University of Maryland and IonQ, a quantum computing firm.

The details of all of these programs and others in the governor’s budget will be made clearer after Moore releases the full budget proposal Wednesday.