Tax Credit

Last week while reporting on the latest tax credit mess , we learned about an obscure 1999 Baltimore law that appeared to have potentially big consequences. It seemed to bar city homeowners from getting both a historic rehab tax credit and a homestead credit on the same house at the same time. If that were the case, it'd be an issue for the 280 owners who currently enjoy both tax breaks. The law states that “the historic property tax credit does not apply to any property for which any other tax subsidy from the City, whether in the form of a tax credit, payment in lieu of taxes, or otherwise, is being received or has been applied for.” Here's the key question: Is the homestead credit a “city subsidy” in this context?

Five Baltimore homeowners have been getting erroneous historic rehab property tax credits for the past two years. Once the errors were discovered, the city was quick to demand that all five pay the money back - and within 30 days, thanks. But city officials took a much more leisurely pace when it came to answering basic questions about these mysterious tax-breaks-that-shouldn't-have-been. After the city told us it had no record of historic credit applications from any of the five, it took a good month to convey (or perhaps determine)

Over the past two years, Maureen Coyle has received $5,700 in property tax breaks that the city admits she never requested for her Patterson Park rowhouse. Now the city is demanding full repayment by month's end. If she doesn't or can't pay by then, the city says she'll be hit with $990 in penalties and interest. "This will definitely be a hardship to put it mildly," said Coyle, a social worker who doesn't have "a spare $5,700 just hanging around. " Coyle is one of a handful of city homeowners who suddenly owe back taxes after The Baltimore Sun reviewed a random sample of homes receiving a tax credit for renovations to historic properties.

The General Assembly has approved a bill imposing steep penalties on homeowners who are caught getting homestead property tax credits they're not entitled to receive. Fines would equal 25 percent of any undeserved break - a considerable punishment given that the credit currently cuts the tax bills of many Baltimore homeowners by thousands of dollars per year. "Hopefully this significant penalty will deter people from abusing this tax credit in the future," the bill's sponsor, Del. Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg, said Saturday evening after final passage by the House of Delegates.

Tens of thousands of Maryland homeowners who haven't already applied for the Homestead Property Tax Credit have until the end of the year to do so or lose the often-valuable break. The deadline was set so long ago — 2007 — that some residents might not remember if they applied. State assessors, hoping to cut down on anxious calls, launched an online feature Monday that notes whether a property's application is in and processed. "We get such tremendous volume of calls, and one of the unfortunate things is, when people do call … they sometimes get a busy signal," said Robert E. Young, director of the state Department of Assessments and Taxation.

House and Senate negotiators squared off Monday over the issue of taxes -- and the question wasn't whether to raise them but who should pay. The five senators and five delegates on the revenue bill conference gathered in the afternoon at the Legislative Services Building next to the State House. It was part of a complicated series of negotiations that began Monday on the various bill that make up this year's budget package -- including the budget bill itself, a companion measure needed to achieve balance and the tax measure.

Being on TV is nothing new for Baltimore. Think of the recent political dramas like "Game Change" and "VEEP" or earlier crime shows like "Homicide" and"The Wire. " But what's going on within a five-acre area of production offices and massive warehouses turned soundstages in Joppa is a new game altogether. The makers of the $100 million Netflix political thriller "House of Cards" are virtually building their own Washington in Harford County. There, the vaulted interiors of the Capitol, much of the West Wing of the White House and even a cramped Adams-Morgan apartment are taking shape.

As someone who's made a hobby of unmasking tax cheats, Patterson Park activist Matt Gonter told state lawmakers Tuesday that he backs a proposal to fine homeowners caught getting unwarranted homestead credits on their property tax bills. Under the proposal, owners would face fines equal to 25 percent of any undeserved break on the credit, which limits increases in property tax payments for owner-occupied homes. Gonter, who regularly alerts government officials about properties that he thinks are getting unwarranted credits, said at a hearing that the risk of a penalty "may convince homeowners to think twice about applying for a credit to which they are not entitled.

Maryland has two major programs designed to help prevent people from being forced out of their homes because of rising property taxes, and through extensive analysis of state records, The Sun's Jamie Smith Hopkins and Scott Calvert have documented problems with both of them. The pair reported last year that the Homestead Property Tax Credit, which limits the annual increases in homeowners' property tax bills, was fueling massive inequities in how much people were paying and was in some cases providing tens of thousands of dollars in subsidies for wealthy people who didn't need the help.