With an already-tight budget picture worsening with every action coming out of Washington, Maryland lawmakers are considering a new tax on businesses to keep the government finances in the black.

The proposal would set a 2.5% tax on services businesses sell each other — including accounting, marketing, lobbying, equipment repair and more — in hopes of raising about $1 billion per year. The tax would only apply to businesses that purchase those services, not individuals.

The measure from Del. David Moon, a Montgomery County Democrat, and Sen. Shelly Hettleman, a Baltimore County Democrat, was introduced on Monday and is likely to be fast-tracked in Annapolis as lawmakers prepare to make difficult budget decisions in the days ahead.

Moon said the proposal should be among the options lawmakers have for keeping the state budget in balance as other funding sources haven’t kept pace with revenues and thousands of Marylanders are losing their jobs under the President Donald Trump administration’s slashing of the federal government.

“With the federal government gouging our tax base and folks having questions about different aspects of the governor’s proposal, it seemed prudent to have an additional option on the table — either to restore cuts or displace one of the other proposed revenue options,” said Moon, who is the House of Delegates majority leader.

Gov. Wes Moore introduced a budget plan that closed an expected $3 billion gap between income and expenses by a combination of tax increases, primarily on the wealthy, and cuts in planned spending.

But elements of his plan have come under fire, including a tax proposal to double the standard deduction, eliminating the ability for many to itemize deductions on their taxes. Another series of proposals to curb spending in the Developmental Disabilities Administration has been fought hard by individuals with disabilities who receive services.

The Democratic governor on Tuesday offered a suite of proposed changes to his budget, including forgoing giving nonunion state employees planned salary increases, a move that would save the state $37 million.

Senate President Bill Ferguson said the business-to-business tax is “a tool in the larger portfolio of options.”

“I think we are doing the best we can to have options that keep us the most competitive, but also protect our social safety net and allow us to fund government in the face of the Trump administration,” said Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat.

Business groups and Republicans are gearing up to oppose the business-to-business tax, arguing that it’s counterproductive to the state’s efforts to lure and expand businesses and grow the economy.

“It’s almost like any tax that could be conceived and thought about is on the table right now, and that’s very concerning,” said Sen. Stephen Hershey, the Republican minority leader in the Senate from the Eastern Shore.

The governor has not staked out a position on the business-to-business tax proposal. In a statement, Moore spokesman Carter Elliott IV said the governor is proud of his budget proposal but will “continue to work with the State Legislature, local leaders, and all partners involved to ensure that we pass a budget that will reform Maryland’s tax code, grow the economy, and invest in Maryland families.”

Tougher decisions could loom in the near future, as the effects of the Trump federal layoffs and congressional budget actions become more clear. Maryland has a high portion of residents who work for the federal government, making the state’s economy vulnerable to federal job losses and any potential federal government shutdowns.

Nonpartisan analysts who advise lawmakers have offered suggestions ranging from even deeper budget cuts and canceling all state employee raises to reinstituting an extra tax on snacks and canceling the tax-free back-to-school week each summer.

Ferguson said he expects the state’s economic experts to deliver a sobering financial forecast later this week.

“We don’t know the extent of it yet, but we have an idea that it’s only getting worse because of the slash-and-burn approach that this administration is taking to the federal workforce,” the Baltimore Democrat said.

Ferguson said lawmakers will patch holes where they can and anticipate more adjustments later. He said the federal government is “inflicting sort of what is looking closer and closer to a regional recession, and that is a pretty surreal reality.”