The state's No. 1 tax collector has been hit with a tax increase, but he's not taking it lying down.
The taxman, state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, is appealing the property tax assessment of two townhouses he owns in Anne Arundel County.
"Here I am the tax collector, and here I am appealing all over the place," Schaefer said yesterday.
But he maintained that he has his reasons.
"I almost fell out of my chair," he said, recalling his reaction to the increased assessments on the two townhouses. "I think it's too high."
The townhouse he lives in most days - 7184 Springhouse Lane, in the Chestnut Hill Cove community in Pasadena - was valued at $132,730 before the increased assessment last fall. It went up 6.5 percent, to $141,290.
The vacant townhouse next door - which he received after the death of his longtime companion, Hilda Mae Snoops - went up in value by 6.2 percent, from $124,150 to $131,820.
The former governor and Baltimore mayor said he thinks assessors overvalued the houses, which are near the Patapsco River and Nabbs Creek, because they were labeled "waterview."
Let's just say that he begs to differ.
He says he can see the water - from his roof, or in the winter when the trees are bare.
"I can see the water coming out of the spigot," he added.
As comptroller, Schaefer oversees an office that collects millions of dollars from Maryland taxpayers each year. But he holds no sway over the state Department of Assessments and Taxation.
An official there said that only about 3 percent of those who received increased assessments in Anne Arundel County appealed the department's decision. But unlike most people, Schaefer refused to pay the increased tax, which for him would be about $170 a year, without a fight.
His appeal, which was reported this week in the Hagerstown Herald-Mail, is simply about exercising his right of redress, he said.
He hopes it goes better than it did three years ago, when a board heard another of his assessment appeals. "They were so cold I thought I was in an iceberg."
Schaefer also struck out when he appealed the most recent increase at a hearing in April. He fears he'll get the same reception at another hearing next month, but he vows to take the tax men to task - and advises others to do the same.
"People take it for granted that it won't make any difference, but sometimes it does," Schaefer said. "If they think it's fair, they shouldn't appeal. But if not, they should."
