Tax Bill

The County Council unanimously approved last night the introduction of a bill to eliminate the ceiling on the fire property tax. The council had to act because the Robey administration was late in submitting the bill for introduction. The bill needed four votes for approval, and the council's two Republicans joined with the three-member Democratic majority. County Executive James N. Robey and council members have said that removing the ceiling would give the county more options for raising money to fund the Department of Fire and Rescue Services, but that doesn't mean a tax increase is automatic.

Acting one week before elections, the Howard County Council yesterday unanimously approved what may be Maryland's most generous tax cut for homeowners 70 and older. The bill, sponsored by two County Council Republicans, including council Chairman Christopher J. Merdon - the party's nominee for county executive - would cut 25 percent from a homeowner's July 1 property tax bill and freeze it at that level until the house is sold. To qualify, a person must be at least 70 years old and have an annual household income of less than $75,000.

Harford's General Assembly delegation has thrown its support behind a bill that would allow the county to levy a 1 percent real estate transfer tax -- raising $4 million a year for building schools and preserving farmland.Lawmakers voted 5-0 in favor of the plan Friday. The plan was endorsed by the Community Coalition of Harford County, but the Harford Association of Realtors fought the plan.Carole L. Bowen, the Realtors president, said the tax would driveup the cost of houses as much as $1,000 for a $100,000 home.

The county commissioners never were so rattled during the budget process as they were yesterday when they received word that a $250 million general tax increase package had moved to the House floor for consideration -- and its possible demise.Word came during the commissioners' review of the county attorney's proposed budget for fiscal 1993, which begins July 1."There is no joy in Mudville tonight," County Attorney Charles W.Thompson Jr. said.The legislation includes a 5-cent gas tax increase that would raise about $122 million in fiscal 1993 and proposalsto give local governments, such as Carroll, new taxing authority to raise additional revenue.

WASHINGTON -- When the House Ways and Means Committee approved a Republican tax-cutting bill over unanimous Democratic opposition early yesterday, it set Congress on a collision course with the Clinton administration over how to divide the tax reductions agreed on in their balanced budget plan.While administration officials and some congressional Democrats held out hope that the Senate would adopt a plan more acceptable to the president when it took up its version of the legislation next week, the bill being prepared by Senate tax writers closely tracks the House bill in many ways, increasing the odds of Clinton vetoing the final version.

They're some of the priciest condos in the city, but they're taxed like empty lots. At the Ritz-Carlton Residences along Baltimore's Inner Harbor — where a recent sale topped $1.5 million — the tax bill for most of the condos was $1,309 apiece this year. At Silo Point, an industrial conversion with gourmet kitchens, hardwood floors and sweeping views of the city, the bill for many of the units is $238 each. Even though they were built years ago, and city inspectors declared them ready to live in, they are still valued for tax purposes as though construction never got off the ground.

Maryland homeowners could lose out on hundreds of dollars in tax bill savings if they miss a deadline that's a week away. Many may not realize they must sign up for the Homestead Tax Credit, which saved the average Baltimore homeowner more than $1,000 in the most recent tax year. To receive the credit in property tax bills starting this July, homeowners must sign up by Dec. 31. "When you say the words 'tax credit' to some homeowners, it doesn't really resonate what they're getting out of it," Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby said.

Apple has gone on a very public tax strike. Months after reporting the second-highest quarterly profits in U.S. history, America's favorite company is refusing to bring home more than $60 billion of offshore funds in protest of the taxes it would have to pay. Apple paints its predicament as unfair. Yet Apple's funds did not build up offshore because its iPhones, iPads and Macs are so much more popular overseas than they are at home. Though more than two-thirds of its retail stores are in the United States and Apple sells more products in the U.S. than in any other nation, it reports to shareholders that it made 24 cents in pre-tax profit for every dollar of sales in the United States, compared to 36 cents profit on every dollar of sales abroad.

The next time your car rattles when riding over potholes or your library is closed when you want to peruse the stacks, thank the tax scofflaws, says Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. The comptroller's office of compliance has identified 25 individuals and 25 businesses to highlight on its annual "Caught in the Web" list, published Tuesday on marylandtaxes.com . Together, these 50 owe more than $11 million in state taxes, penalties and interest. And that money is only a fraction of the hundreds of millions in delinquent taxes Franchot said is owed to the state.

Bills were introduced Thursday in both chambers of the General Assembly that propose extending the deadline to apply for the Homestead Tax Credit until June 1. Many homeowners did not meet the Dec. 31 deadline, excluding them from hundreds of dollars in potential savings on their upcoming tax bill, according to elected officials and community leaders. The bills, Senate Bill 158 and House Bill 128, need a three-fifths vote in each chamber and would go into effect upon the governor's approval.