Homestead credits for non-homesteads
The point of the homestead tax credit is to keep Maryland owner-occupiers from seeing their property-tax bills skyrocket. Nobody else is supposed to get the benefit of that tax break, but it's going to the owners of 465 homes cited by the city as vacant.
The analysis was simple: Colleague Scott Calvert and I compared the city's list of homes with vacant building notices against its list of properties with homestead credits. Total amount of city homestead credits to homes listed as vacant: $325,000.
The city sends its list of registered rentals to the state Department of Assessments and Taxation twice a year so it can be cross-checked for homestead recipients. But it hasn't been sending the vacants list and asking for the same analysis.
After we reported this on Tuesday, the city Finance Department said it would be sending that list to the state assessors by the end of the afternoon. Challengers to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, meanwhile, issued strongly worded tsk-tsks. The follow-up story is here.
In related tax-credit news (same story): Mayoral candidate Frank M. Conaway Sr. is receiving homestead breaks on two properties, a rental home as well as his own home. He said Tuesday that he had no idea he was getting the credit on the rental, and he notified the assessment department by email.
"I tried to pay it today, but they wouldn't let me," Conaway said. "Nobody wanted to take the money."
Loyal readers will recall that city resident Matt Gonter has spent years tracking down and reporting owners of properties with unwarranted homestead credits. Here's the 2008 story about his one-man effort and a 2009 update.
He's been prodding the city to do more on its own. Last month, the Finance Department launched a "billing integrity program" designed to catch tax cheats and those unwittingly getting breaks they shouldn't be receiving.
Categories: Homestead Property Tax Credit, Property taxes
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Comments
Finally!!! If everybody pays their fair share maybe the city will ACTUALLY be able to reduce property taxes. I have rentals and pay a ridiculous amount in taxes for the services the city provides, but that is the law!
Do the math, 1/3 of the city is vacant, 1/3 of the city gets the a tax break (historic or otherwise), and 1/3 of the city actually pays for everybody else. This math does not work, that is why Baltimore is dirty, the kids are failing, and the city is broke...
Posted by: baltimorelandlord | August 24, 2011 8:14 AM
Next step? Track down the rental properties getting homestead credits. They can do a very simple check of bills that receive a homestead credit but are sent somewhere other than that property. MOST of those properties will be rentals.
Posted by: V | August 24, 2011 8:26 AM
The joke is on the voters of Baltimore. Only a fool would believe that Conaway did not know what he was signing and did not know about this issue. Back in MARCH when I wrote the article about his daughter I also wrote an article about his Bareva road issue: http://charmcitycurrent.com/meister/2011/03/23/i-believe-weve-been-deceived-by-the-conaways/ The Conaways share the same lawyer. You mean to tell me when their lawyer was researching what I wrote about Belinda that he did not see the article I wrote about Frank?
THE CURRENT CLERK OF THE COURTS has been scamming Baltimore City. Pay your property taxes and tell us where you live you bums.
Posted by: Adam Meister | August 24, 2011 8:43 AM
Adam Meister is my hero!
Posted by: Jaded | August 24, 2011 11:54 AM
It is critical that the Conaways resign from their offices immediately. The sense of entitlement MUST stop. If I had the money, I would find a lawyer to sue them both for every dollar they have. Adam, I wish you had the money to counter-sue them. It's terrible what they did to you, all because you pointed out their "honest" mistakes.
Posted by: Bp | August 24, 2011 1:30 PM
If you know someone is cheating the system by having two homes listed as their primary residence, what should you do?
Posted by: art | August 24, 2011 2:26 PM
Art,
You can report it to your local SDAT office. The email addresses are listed here: http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/taxcollectors.html
Posted by: Matt Gonter | August 24, 2011 3:06 PM
Thanks, Matt! Meant to answer Art's question earlier and got caught up in other things.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | August 24, 2011 3:18 PM