Tax Breaks

WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Bill Bradley yesterday proposed ending corporate tax breaks worth $125 billion over 10 years, seeking to sharpen his image as a political reformer while answering charges that he cannot pay for his policy proposals. The boldest of Bradley's initiatives -- stiffer penalties for corporate tax scofflaws, higher federal mining and grazing fees and the reinstatement of lapsed environmental taxes -- have long been embraced by the Clinton White House, though they have been ignored by Congress.

Baltimore has collected its first profit-sharing check from one of the major development projects that got tax breaks from the city over the past decade to help spur economic growth. The Baltimore Development Corp. said yesterday that the city received $819,826 for fiscal 2006 from the Marriott Waterfront Hotel. The hotel was one of the first big projects that helped transform Harbor East from an industrial stretch of waterfront to an upscale urban neighborhood.

The Schmoke administration is soliciting support for a newly drafted bill that could exempt from city property taxes nearly every new commercial real estate project over $10 million.The legislation, prepared by city officials, would reinstate $75 million in tax breaks for the Wyndham Inner Harbor East hotel.The new bill would allow tax breaks for hotels including the $134 million Wyndham now under construction, as well as new office buildings, retail projects, apartments and garages.The bill, which would grant payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs)

AS ECONOMIC development tools, property tax breaks for developers can be valuable incentives. To compete with other cities for major hotels and other construction projects, Baltimore needs such tools. That, quite simply, ais fact of life that policy-makers can't ignore.Hearings today in Annapolis will look at an amended bill that would help level the playing field for Baltimore, following a Circuit Court decision late last year to curb the city's use of "payment in lieu of taxes" (PILOT) programs.

Consultants who get paid extra to negotiate bigger tax breaks for corporate clients have sparked concern among state ethics officials, who say the practice may violate laws banning contingency compensation for some people dealing with government.Even if consultant bonuses linked to tax breaks are found to be legal in Maryland, ethics officials are talking about changing state law to outlaw the practice."I'm troubled by contingent-fee compensation with respect to these [tax] incentive deals," said Donald B. Robertson, chairman of a state task force on lobbying practices.

In a bid to marry the arts and revitalization, the House of Delegates approved a bill yesterday allowing Baltimore and other Maryland communities to create enclaves where artists and art-related businesses could receive tax breaks and state aid. Proponents say the legislation would promote the revival of business districts in traditional urban centers by luring artists to work and live there. The House passage of the bill, which was strongly supported by Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, follows Senate approval earlier this week of a similar measure sponsored by Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman of Baltimore.

WASHINGTON -- As the curtain prepared to fall on the Republican-controlled Congress, GOP leaders pushed for approval of what is likely to be the last major pro-drilling bill during the Bush presidency - a measure that would open a large swath of the Gulf of Mexico to energy exploration. The drilling provision was part of a $45 billion tax and trade bill that was pending before the House. If that chamber passed it before the night ended, it would likely go to the Senate today as the lame-duck Congress wrapped up its business.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Finance Committee voted yesterday to rein in the tax breaks that sweeten the huge compensation packages corporations often bestow upon executives. The crackdown was tucked into legislation to raise the federal minimum wage by $2.10 over two years to $7.25. In a unanimous voice vote, the committee approved the wage increase, along with a package of tax reductions and credits aimed at helping small businesses. In a surprise to many lobbyists who didn't see it coming, one provision was aimed at top executives of hundreds of large companies.

The Waverly community in North Baltimore won a citywide competition yesterday to lure newcomers with one of the biggest tax breaks offered to homebuyers.Under the program to begin July 1, anyone buying a home in Waverly in the next three years will get a 40 percent discount in property taxes -- and a matching reduction in state income taxes.Community leaders said they hope the tax break will bring new life to the area, which has eclectic styles of architecture and a diverse population, both ethnically and economically.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton will unveil today a $1.7 trillion budget proposal for the coming year that would grant tax breaks for education, slow the growth of Medicare and other programs and produce a small surplus in the federal budget by 2002."