Tax Reduction

TOKYO -- The Japanese Cabinet, in a move long urged by the United States, passed a major tax reform package late last night, providing a boost to the country's depressed economy.Theoretically, the tax cut will enable Japanese consumers to buy more foreign goods, thus reducing the yawning trade deficit it has with the United States and other nations.Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama announced the tax package at a news conference, as the U.S.-Japan trade talks try to avert punitive U.S. sanctions on Japan, set for the end of the month.

Visitors to Ocean City are often struck by the contrasting fortunes of the vacant Ocean Plaza Mall on 94 t h Street and the bustle of development along U.S. 50 in West Ocean City , with its new Walmart and other big-box stores. There are a number of reasons for this, but one in particular sticks in the resort town's collective craw: double taxation. In essence, property owners in Ocean City have been subsidizing sprawl development outside town limits, a self-destructive policy that can only be described as dumb growth.

MARYLAND'S Board of Revenue Estimates has sent a mixed message to Gov. Parris N. Glendening. The state's economy is slowly strengthening, the board concluded last week, but don't expect the pace to quicken. Look for "steady, but unspectacular" increases in jobs and in tax revenue from now through the year 2001.This state is inching ahead on the economic front at less than half the rate of high-growth years. New jobs are being added at about 1.4 percent a year -- a pittance compared with a decade ago. Tax revenues over the next two years will rise only about 3.3 percent.

The Baltimore City Council on Monday granted preliminary approval to more than $20 million in tax breaks for the long-stalled "Superblock" development. The council's unanimous vote provides for $22.1 million in tax breaks to the developer, Lexington Square Partners LLC. A vote for final approval is expected Thursday. "Hopefully, this project will reignite the growth of the central business district," said City Councilman Carl Stokes, who spoke in favor of the development. Lexington Square Partners has promised local hiring initiatives and profit-sharing with the city, Stokes said.

CONGRESSIONAL Republicans are struggling to pass a tax cut the economy doesn't need and taxpayers are not clamoring for. With President Clinton also proposing a $250-billion targeted cut, it's clear these proposals are nothing more than the candy politicians love to pass out before elections.The assumption underlying these proposals is that the federal government will realize a $3 trillion surplus over the next decade. While the economy has been performing extremely well for the past nine years, it is presumptuous to assume that the current recovery will last another 10 years.

House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. pledged yesterday to push for a 10 percent cut in personal income taxes over three years, saying he believes it can be done without raising other taxes to compensate for the loss of revenue.Taylor, a conservative Democrat from Western Maryland who is regarded as a possible candidate for governor, said the tax cut is necessary for the economic well-being of the state. He noted it is also a "top priority for the business community.""This is being put forth as a very simple, uncomplicated income tax reduction program.

With Maryland enjoying a robust economy and a healthy budget surplus, a key senator is proposing that the state accelerate the income tax cut passed last year to give taxpayers quicker relief.Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, said yesterday it might be fiscally feasible to reduce the phase-in period for the tax cut from five to three years."I really think a good use of that [state budget] surplus would be to accelerate the tax reduction to the citizens," said Hoffman, a Baltimore Democrat.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening's decision not to seek a tax cut in the budget he presents to the General Assembly next week is drawing a mixed reaction from business executives and Republican legislators.Several GOP lawmakers said yesterday the governor seemed poised to renege on last year's pledge to reduce personal income taxes, a step that some argue is vital to improving Maryland's economy."The governor has been waffling on the tax cut for the past two months," said Senate Minority Leader John A. Cade, an Anne Arundel County Republican.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening called yesterday for a 10 percent cut in the state's personal income tax rate, a move aimed at boosting the sluggish Maryland economy and spreading some goodwill among voters.On a Christmas-comes-early day in state government, Glendening also proposed an ambitious new scholarship program that would provide free college tuition for thousands of middle-class Marylanders.And administration officials said the governor intends to give the state police a pay raise of about 10 percent in the budget he will submit to the General Assembly in January.

The City Council on Monday approved Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's property tax reduction plan, which relies on projected revenue from gambling. “I want to thank Council President Bernard 'Jack' Young and members of the City Council for giving relief to city homeowners,” Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. Banking on income from a future slots location, the plan would reduce Baltimore's property tax rate by 20 cents by 2020 for Baltimore homeowners. According to the mayor's office, the plan would give an owner-occupied home, valued at $200,000, an annual tax reduction of $40 next year.

Dan Rodricks ' column, "Voting to give more money to millionaires," (Oct. 21) was right on point. While middle class wages have remained stagnant over the last 20 years, the top 2 percent have seen their incomes triple (with both groups adjusted for inflation). Republicans say higher taxes on the wealthy kill jobs. In 2001, George W. Bush spearheaded the largest tax reduction in U.S. history (overwhelmingly benefiting our wealthiest citizens) and unemployment rates quickly spiked higher and have remained nearly double the Clinton era levels to this day. When were the golden years of U.S. full employment?

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a high temperature near 81 degrees. Showers are likely before 8 a.m. There is also a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Tonight is expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 62 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Pit bull ruling concerns dog and property owners : The Maryland Court of Appeals' decision that the breed is inherently dangerous could have far-reaching implications for landlords and dog owners who rent, experts said.

The City Council on Monday approved Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's property tax reduction plan, which relies on projected revenue from gambling. “I want to thank Council President Bernard 'Jack' Young and members of the City Council for giving relief to city homeowners,” Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. Banking on income from a future slots location, the plan would reduce Baltimore's property tax rate by 20 cents by 2020 for Baltimore homeowners. According to the mayor's office, the plan would give an owner-occupied home, valued at $200,000, an annual tax reduction of $40 next year.

Penn Wilbert and his wife, Amanda Ferchak, have lived in Southeast Baltimore for six years - riding bikes to the grocery store, playing kickball at Patterson Park and meeting friends for drinks at bars inCanton. But last month, when the young couple purchased their first home, they chose a house in Anne Arundel County. The reason, according to Wilbert, an information technology specialist, was lower crime, better schools and - most importantly, he said - lower property taxes.

I know a pundit from a think tank often doesn't see things clearly, but I hope that next time Marta Mossburg is in Chicago or New York she notices that both cities have superb public transit compared to Baltimore's Lilliputian system ("Rebuild Baltimore the right way," July 20). I normally don't have to read Ms. Mossburg's commentary because it's generally a one-note rant about lowering property taxes as the cure for all urban ills. However, I note that the U.S. cities that purportedly achieved some sort of prosperity after cutting property taxes (namely San Francisco and Boston)

Atholton Swim Club lives up to its part as a nonprofit organization. Using our volunteers we exist to serve our members and the public in many ways for close to 50 years. The relief we would feel from the proposed tax reduction would allow us to continue to offer our many programs to the community. For a non-Columbia Association resident, you will find that our annual dues and fees are less expensive than those of the surrounding CA pools. Our swim club is an affordable alternative for the hard-working middle-class families who find the CA fees out of reach.

WASHINGTON - President Ronald Reagan inherited a bad economy in the 1980s and made it better. That legacy endeared him to many Americans, but what he did and how he did it remain highly controversial two decades later. In slashing tax rates, building up the Pentagon budget and pushing deregulation, Reagan put his country and his party on a new economic path. And now, in a new century, the same battles over his economic philosophy are being fought again. The Republican Party has embraced the Reagan tax-cutting message as party dogma, emphasizing a lighter tax burden over reducing deficits.

Don summoned the legislators to Annapolis again. He must like them.And now for the important issues, like what school Chelsea will attend, whose dresses Hillary will fill and where Bill will play golf.Bill called an economic summit to tell him how to reconcile campaign pledges about deficit reduction, tax reduction and growth stimulation. No one knows how.If we don't buy French white wine, they will retaliate against our soda pop.Arkansas has the worst public health but now other states can be expected to catch up.

Several Baltimore City Council members expressed frustration yesterday with the O'Malley administration's overspending and the pace of property tax reduction, issues that also concerned residents who turned out last night for their say in the budget process. Mayor Martin O'Malley's finance officials presented an overview of the administration's $2.4 billion budget and its 2-cent property tax rate cut at a council hearing yesterday, the first of several sessions this month examining the spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1. But council members were more interested in the $18 million that the administration said it needs to cover overspending in the current fiscal year.