However, some are duplicates sent in by people worried that their first application was not promptly acknowledged, or by homeowners who haven't been notified to apply. Only one-third of Maryland's property owners have received the notices because the state assesses a third of all properties every year.
Realtors, pointing to the public's anxiety and confusion, have been lobbying for repeal of the requirement.
"We're afraid that this system is going to shut some people out because it's cumbersome," said Mark Feinroth, lobbyist for the Maryland Association of Realtors.
But with money tight, some think it would be a mistake to give up on verifying that people are getting the tax credits they deserve.
"If there's ever a good time for it, it's now," said Louis Wilen, an Olney resident who helped get the application requirement passed. "This is when you want to catch people who are cheating."
Wilen, 50, is a soft-spoken father of two who works for a large computer company and helps out with the local parent-teacher association. But he has been on a minicrusade to stamp out homestead tax abuse since discovering that a house for rent in his neighborhood a few years back was still listed on tax records as owner-occupied.
He ferreted out hundreds more rental homes in Montgomery County improperly getting tax credits and reported them to the county.
Then, convinced that the abuse was widespread, he met with his local legislator, Democratic Del. Anne R. Kaiser, and persuaded her to put in a bill to weed the tax dodgers out.
Kaiser acknowledged that the state could have done a better job of communicating with taxpayers. But she defends the application, saying that there's potentially a lot of fraud going on, and this is the only effective way to catch it.
"This is not about keeping this from people who deserve it," Kaiser said. But, "anytime some people avoid paying their taxes, the rest pay more."
tim.wheeler@baltsun.com
