Tax Breaks

After months of deal-making and study, City Council members are expected to approve today $25 million in tax breaks for the developers of the Wyndham hotel proposed for the Inner Harbor East.Martin O'Malley, chairman of the Taxation and Finance Committee, said that he will bring the bill to the floor for a vote today."Yes, it will come out on Monday," said O'Malley, who represents Northeast Baltimore.Few council members have said that they will vote against the tax breaks, paving the way for construction of the controversial $134 million project proposed by local bakery mogul John Paterakis Sr.The three council members who represent the area where the hotel would be built said they will vote against tax breaks for the proposed 750-room Wyndham.

Returning from its summer break last night, the Baltimore City Council picked up where it left off in June -- introducing bills to grant property tax breaks to two proposed downtown developments.The council introduced a Schmoke administration measure that would provide tax breaks for a proposed $124-million, 600-room Westin Hotel on the former News American site at 300 E. Pratt St.The second bill, also an administration measure, would benefit a planned $90-million office tower and parking facility on land owned by Baltimore City Community College at 600 E. Pratt St.They are the latest projects for which developers are seeking payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs)

Returning from its summer break last night, the Baltimore City Council picked up where it left off in June -- introducing bills to grant property tax breaks to two proposed downtown developments.The council introduced a Schmoke administration measure that would provide tax breaks for a proposed $124-million, 600-room Westin Hotel on the former News American site at 300 E. Pratt St.The second bill, also an administration measure, would benefit a planned $90-million office tower and parking facility on land owned by Baltimore City Community College at 600 E. Pratt St.They are the latest projects for which developers are seeking payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs)

Despite a projected $25 million budget deficit over the next two years, the Baltimore City Council approved last night an annual tax break of up to $400,000 to a developer of 151 luxury apartments downtown.The council voted 16-3 to absolve A&R Development Corp. from paying the full taxes on its 11 S. Eutaw St. project in return for a schedule of lower payments.Three council members from the 1st District, where the council this year granted the proposed Wyndham Hotel a 20-year tax break estimated at $25 million, opposed the measure last night.

In one of his last duties as a city councilman, Baltimore Mayor-Elect Martin O'Malley presided over a hearing yesterday to grant $73 million in future property tax breaks to five downtown projects.City officials who support the hotel, apartment and office proposals contend that they will return $122.5 million to the city in other taxes while creating a projected 1,600 jobs.The incentive -- known as payments in lieu of taxes or PILOTS -- sparked more than four hours of debate among council colleagues, including opponents who accuse the city of mortgaging its future.

The state's highest court heard arguments yesterday over whether a 750-room hotel being built east of the Inner Harbor is eligible to receive $75 million in tax breaks that were struck down by a lower court late last year. The Court of Appeals will decide whether H&S Properties Development Co., the real estate arm of baking mogul John Paterakis Sr., and its partners are entitled to tax breaks that Baltimore pledged as part of a deal to build the 31-story hotel. At a hearing yesterday, attorneys for Baltimore and H&S Properties' Inner Harbor East project argued that a Baltimore circuit judge erred when he ruled that the $117 million hotel failed to meet state criteria for "payment in lieu of taxes" (PILOT)

A nonprofit group proposing to build 345 apartments, dozens of stores, a multiscreen theater and parking garages on the west side of Baltimore's downtown wants tax breaks from the city to help pay for the project, according to details released yesterday.The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is also asking the city to reopen a pedestrian-only section of Lexington Street to traffic and remove dozens of lighted arches over Howard Street, according to the proposal.City officials have not decided whether to approve the proposal.

A Baltimore judge refused yesterday to reconsider a ruling striking down millions of dollars in tax breaks for the planned Wyndham Inner Harbor East Hotel.Baltimore Circuit Judge Richard T. Rombro's decision to uphold his November ruling eliminating $75 million in tax breaks for the 31-story hotel sets the stage for a lengthy appeal, and possibly a campaign to alter state laws in the next General Assembly session.In rejecting a motion by the $134 million hotel's developers to reconsider the ruling, Rombro reiterated that "payment in lieu of taxes" (PILOT)

WASHINGTON -- Operating with rare speed and precision, Senate and House tax-writing committees unanimously endorsed yesterday a six-month extension of a dozen popular tax breaks scheduled to expire Dec. 31. Congress is expected to give its final approval this week.President Bush has indicated he would sign the legislation if no additional provisions were added before the measure reached his desk.As a result, tax credits for low-income rental housing, for business research and for health insurance expenses for self-employed people are likely to be extended once again, at least for the first half of 1992.

WASHINGTON -- One costly element of President Clinton's health care proposal has gone largely unnoticed in the debate thus far: Millions of Americans would lose tax breaks worth hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars if the Clinton reforms become law.To help finance the costly reforms that aim to offer every American health care insurance, Mr. Clinton wants to eliminate a law allowing millions of middle-income workers to shield part of their earnings from...