Cutting the tax cut
by Lori Barrett | April 23, 2008 at 10:52 am
Posted in baltimore politics, money
Those of you who own property in Baltimore City are not going to be happy.
Baltimore City’s property tax rate is already the highest in Maryland (double that of Baltimore County). To provide some relief to property owners, then-Mayor O’Malley implemented a five-year tax reduction in 2005. The annual 2-cent reduction would have amounted to a cumulative savings of $900 on a $300,000 property. No more. Because of a revenue shortfall, Mayor Dixon is suspending the property tax break program.
The tax cut was expected to cost the city $5.4 million in the new fiscal year. But because of some miscalculations in the $2.92-billion budget, there will be much less revenue than anticipated in the budget. The city has decided that the best way to cover the shortfall is to eliminate the tax break.
Although the budget still needs to be approved by the five-member Board of Estimates, Dixon and two of her appointees comprise the majority. Meaning: what the mayor wants, the mayor usually gets.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 3:02 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Are we sure she is actually the mayor?? Or was the technicality resolved?
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:28 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
SHOCKING.
Step 1. Housing bubble produces budget windfall.
Step 2. Windfall spent on building a hotel, some education programs. None reinvested.
Step 3. Property taxes reduced. Yay!
Step 4. Housing bubble bursts, inevitable reliance on said bubble to provide revenue suddenly disappears. No one saw it coming!
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:28 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Yep just piss off the taxpayers who actually keep this city afloat so they can move out to the counties or 'gasp" even DC. With the prices around here, this is a very bad move.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:45 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
This should have been no suprise. Outgoing Mayor makes a great deal for the citizens knowing that he will not be there in the future when someone else has to cut it. I can't blame the mayor. But I can blame them both for "investing" in hotels. maybe with enough time and workforce reinvestment we can educate kids to stay in school long enough to get a job cleaning hotels. Believe 'hon.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:50 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Well, that just cost me $300 bucks.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
The homeowners in this city are actually what keeps the city for going to complete crap. Why does Dixon keep helping those who give nothing to the city and taking from those who do?
Congrats, murder rates are down and you are starting to make the drug-ridden crappy areas of the city a little less crappy. But you neglect the rest of us. Pretty soon all of us who live in the nicer areas of Baltimore will be leaving the city. Then what happens to Baltimore?
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Here's a thought.
When the next election rolls around. Let's try something new. Let's not elect the person who has been doing a crappy job. IE- O'Malley was not a very good Mayor, but Baltimore helped make him Gov. (we all know how that's working out).
Dixon worked for O'Malley so Baltimore made her Mayor. And, now we see how well that is working out.
I'm planning on Voting Republican, the Democrats in Maryland have this weird nepotism that really doesn't benefit anyone who's not 'in the family'.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Thank you Mayor Dixon! Its not enough that I can barely afford to: 1)put gas in my car to drive the 15 miles away from home that I work, or 2) heat/cool my home due to the continuous BGE increase, or 3)pay my ever increasing mortgage due to my ever increasing property taxes. I am a single, self-supported, law-abiding woman that works very hard for everything that I have and now I am expected to recover quickly from this ever-so-blatant slap in the face. I guess I should be glad that she didn't propose the regular...reduced trash pick-up or a reduction in force for our police and/or fire department. Some please stop the bleeding!
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:34 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
In the grand scheme of things, the property tax cut was really too little to make my wallet heftier. The next time you look at your assessments from the City and State and what you pay in taxes, remember what that $.02 cut really amounts to in the grand scheme of things.
That said, pillorying the current administration--of which I am not a fan--for a rescinding a tax cut in poor economic times is foolish at best. The larger problem here is the reliance of the city on the property tax for a large part of its revenue. It has been that way in this city for a large part of my lifetime, and while we can cry about the ineffective delivery of services and the poor education system, we still need to address alternative means of revenue for the city.
City government--just like other local and state governments--fell into the trap that the real estate bubble caused--government coffers growing with increased property tax revenue. It was unsustainable, and everyone knew it. The rescinding of this cut is just the latest manifestation of it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
This city doesn't reward the law abiding tax paying homeowners. This city rewards the lazy thugs, deadbeats, criminals, and wefare momma's that keep popping out kids.
Heck look at the news today. The 2 teenage thugs who beat up the white woman are now sueing the MTA, the bus driver, and the city schools. For $10 million a piece. Thats right the crimnals are sueing the system because "their rights were violated" .
Nothing in this crap hole of a city surprises me anymore and i'm sure the little thugs will get some money out of it from a jury of their "peers".
I was have been a lifelong Democrat (from PA) but since moving to Baltimore I think this will be the first year I vote Republican. These jokers err thieves we call Democrats in this State are a disgrace to the party.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:10 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Hold your comments on the MTA lawsuit for a moment. You're beating me to the punch, Woodchuck. :)
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
The Baltimore Sun article has several city officials saying they don't want to cut city services. Yea, because the homeowners paying these ridiculous tax amounts really benefit. As far as I can tell, the only thing I directly benefit from is the twice weekly garbage pickup.
Perhaps I wouldn't mind paying my property taxes if real services were rendered. I don't know... actually educate some children... cut back on that crime and murder problem... ugh!
At the very least, pave some roads so I don't have to have my alignment fixed twice a year! Then, maybe, just maybe I woulnd't mind paying so much for the premium price I pay to live within the city.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
No silly..the reason you are paying a premium to live in the city is your paycheck has to feed and house your neighbors, you know the ones 4-5 blocks away that sit on their porch step all day smoking a fatty while you are hard at work every day.
God bless Baltimore