The following letter was sent by John P. Mallamo of Bel Air:
HB 653 Real Property Tax Relief
On 25 February the Maryland General Assembly House Ways and Means Committee conducted the first reading and public hearing on HB653, Constitutional Amendment.
This Bill introduced by Del Richard Impallaria, (R-7) provides Real Property Tax Relief to all property owners and residents of Maryland. Important features of the Bill include:
1. A fixed cap on property assessments. Real Property Tax Assessments are limited to the lower of the Consumer Price Index or 2% per assessment period, unless and until a property is purchased or transferred.
2. Protection to property owners affected by government action. Property owners will not receive full cash value appraisals and increased assessments from the base value of their properties purchased as replacements for properties affected by actions resulting from ...Continue Reading
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Katina Virginia Martin, age 37, of Aberdeen, Maryland, today to 18 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for signing two false tax returns. Judge Quarles also entered an order that Martin pay restitution of $236,175.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge C. Andre’ Martin of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
“All income is subject to taxes, whether stolen or earned lawfully,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
“Prosecuting individuals who intentionally conceal income is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” stated C. Andre’ Martin, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge. “All Americans have a duty to pay their fair share.”
According to Martin’s plea agreement, she was an assistant office manager ...Continue Reading
From Roy Whiteley, president of Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation:
On February 24, we addressed the Budget & Taxation Committee on SB 458 & SB 724. We were disappointed that more of you could not attend in support of these measures. However, even though our support at the Senate was not as good as it was for the House version, it was adequate and well presented; significant enough to be noticed.
Senator Barry Glassman made eloquent remarks in introducing both bills and their need for passage before introducing Tony and the writer. Our verbal supporting testimony was we feel unjustly foreshortened by Chairman Currie but Tony Passaro, Bel Air TEA Party founder and spokesman did his usual scholarly, humorous delivery that filled in the blanks. Ellie Dieglemann, Ocean City resident and Worcester County Commissioner candidate, together with first time Eastern Shore testier, Cathy Geisler made strong support comments. Currie allowed Cathy ...Continue Reading
I don’t care if an idea is a Republican idea or a Democrat idea, as long as it is a good idea for the people of Cecil and Harford Counties.
Although members of both parties serve on all our legislative committees and subcommittees I was pleased that both the House Appropriations Committee (on which I serve as the Chair of the Health and Human Resources subcommittee) and the Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee invited the Republican leadership to formally present their suggestions and opinions to help Maryland continue balancing its budget while preserving the services that taxpayers count on.. The hearing was open to the public and much anticipated by all of who believe in true bipartisanship and the notion that as Henry Ford said “coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is success.”
It is truly remarkable what a difference four (4) years can make. If we could journey back to ‘2006’, Marylanders demanded a change in Annapolis. Despite a 60% approval rating of former Governor Ehrlich’s performance during his term, Marylanders elected a new Administration with a message that promised to create new jobs and cut taxes for middle-income Marylanders.
Now, four (4) years later and under the Leadership of Governor O’Malley, Maryland received a “change”. Unfortunately, Governor O’Malley has delivered a “change” – unexpected and undesirable to Marylander’s expectations. In only his first term, Governor O’Malley, in an unprecedented decision, raised the corporate income tax, personal income tax, and the sales tax.
According to Governor O’Malley, the purpose for these tax increases, were to resolve a decade long structural state deficit. It was the message ...Continue Reading
I’ll add my two cent’s on the “Hotel Tax” debate. I travel a lot with my job. I put together a chart showing the hotel taxes I was charged while traveling for my job. Some of the locations published where the fund collected, most didn’t. Today it’s just a part of doing business and Harford County should join the rest of the 22 counties and Baltimore City and benefit from this funding source. It’s a great source of revenue if used properly.
I have introduced five pieces of legislation this year, and I’d like to give you a synopsis of them.
House Bill 653 – Taxes – Limitations is scheduled for a hearing on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 1 pm before the House Ways and Means Committee. It is modeled after California’s Proposition 13, which brought property tax reform to that state. This bill would set property values at their 2010 value and only allow property tax increases or decreases of 2% every two years based on the Consumer Price Index. It also prevents property values from being increased when the title is being changed due to death, divorce, or other circumstances where the property is staying in the hands of a family member. It also provides that, if a person’s property is purchased through condemnation, the assessed value of the new property ...Continue Reading
Annapolis, Md. – Harford County Senator Barry Glassman R-35 will be introducing a pair of Bills to update Maryland’s Property Taxpayers Bill of Rights
Currently, the State Department of Assessment and Taxation (“SDAT”) is receiving approximately 59,000 property tax appeals. To states falling housing market and local citizen’s awareness of the downturn in the market and the value of their homes has raised awareness on the SDAT’s current assessment procedure. Although Maryland currently has a taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, Senator Glassman wants to update some of the provisions which would allow a property tax appealer to record their local hearing, have a right to change jurisdiction when agreed upon, and agree upon a reasonable amount of time to present their case. The Senator’s legislation would also allow a property owner to receive the actual comparables and evaluation from SDAT upon the ...Continue Reading
Recovery Zone designation proposed for Stimulus Bond Funds to Assist Commercial Development Projects
(Bel Air, MD) – The Harford County Office of Economic Development will host a pre-application meeting for businesses interested in the Recovery Zone and Recovery Zone Facility Bond (RZFB) program on Monday, March 1, 2010 at 10:00 AM and Friday, March 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM at the Higher Education Conference Center, Room 130, 1201 Technology Drive, Aberdeen, Maryland. Each session will include a brief presentation about the proposed Recovery Zone and the guidelines, benefits and requirements to apply for RZFBs, followed by a question and answer session for prospective applicants. To make reservations, contact the Harford County Office of Economic Development by phone at 410-638-3059 or email to kmwajer@harfordcountymd.gov.
Harford County received a $15.1 million allocation on June 12, 2009 for Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFBs) to assist commercial development projects. The allocation was part ...Continue Reading
The following letter was sent by Roy Whiteley, president of Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation, to Maryland state senators. A copy was provided to The Dagger:
Dear Senators
For the past several years, a bill has been introduced to the Budget and Taxation committee by Senator Barry Glassman and the Harford County Delegation only to be shoved in a drawer never to see the light of day or debate. It is time to change that stonewalling action. This bill needs to be acted upon by all of the Senators we elect. Many of your constituents strongly support that position. This year, as SB 458, the bill is again introduced to create a Task Force to review the property tax assessment and assessment appeals procedures. WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT TO MAKE THIS BILL RECEIVE A FAVORABLE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND BE RELEASED TO THE FLOOR FOR ACTION BY ALL OF OUR ...Continue Reading
