Tax Relief

The ka-ching of slots had only one appeal to Mayor Sheila Dixon - the possibility of lowering Baltimore's chart-topping property tax rate. The city took another step toward realizing the mayor's goal by concluding a profit-sharing lease agreement with the group that has proposed building a slots casino in south Baltimore. City residents sure could use a break on their property taxes; the city's rate is the highest in the state. But any cut in the rate will depend on the success of slots.

At 76, Donald J. Dunn is looking forward to seeing the annual property tax bill on his West Friendship home stay exactly where it is for now, thanks to tax relief measures unanimously approved by the Howard County Council. "It fulfills the wishes I had," Dunn said about one bill, which would let disabled homeowners and those 65 or older with annual incomes under $75,000 defer property tax increases, interest-free, until their homes are sold. "It allows seniors the option - and it's a good option - of staying in their house and being able to plan and have some security."

People sitting comfortably at home in Baltimore, paying their mortgages monthly, may feel no connection to the subprime mortgage crisis. But it just cost them a cut in the property tax rate. Faced with budget shortfalls, Mayor Sheila Dixon has decided against shaving 2 cents off the rate of $2.268 per $100 of assessed value as part of the five-year plan to lower the rate by 10 cents. But the mayor made the wrong choice: She should have withheld cost-of-living raises for city workers and delivered some tax relief.

When he mails off his ever-rising annual property tax payment, Ben Pritchett includes a letter. Addressed to no one in particular, the letter states: "If you keep this up, pretty soon you will be taking care of me." The 72-year-old retired Bethlehem Steel worker has seen no rise in his pension, a decrease in what his former employer pays for his health care insurance and an increase in the assessment of his Bel Air condominium. "We all need tax relief," he said, scanning a roomful of residents who came to the McFaul Senior Center in Bel Air last week to gather information on the county's newly enacted Homeowners Property Tax Credit law. "How poor do we have to get before we get it?"

EDGARTOWN, Mass. - Two days after Republicans wound up their political convention with promises of tax relief, President Clinton set up an election-year battle yesterday by vetoing as too costly a tax break for some married couples that is the cornerstone of the Republican effort. Clinton accused the Republicans in his weekly radio address of advancing a series of "tax giveaways" that abandon the fiscal discipline that has helped produce the longest economic expansion in the country's history.

The effort to reduce state income taxes picked up momentum in the State House last night as the House of Delegates gave final approval to a 7 percent cut and Senate leaders announced their support for tax relief.By a 131-7 vote, the House passed a bill that would trim the state's income tax rate from 5 percent to 4.8 percent over two years and create a tax credit of as much as $350 per child for low- and moderate-income families."This is truly a moment a lot of us have been waiting for," Del. John Adams Hurson, a Montgomery Democrat, said of the vote on the No. 1 issue of the session.

WASHINGTON -- With the 104th Congress heading for the homestretch -- and into the heat of the campaign season -- homeowners, buyers and investors may be interested to know: What's the status of key real estate, tax and property rights issues pending on Capitol Hill?Here's a quick update.Taxes: Don't hold your breath, but there's still a chance that the Republican-controlled Congress and the Clinton administration will agree on a compromise tax package, including some form of capital gains relief covering all forms of real estate sales.

JUST AS ALL the fiscal signs point to an economy robust enough to wipe out Washington's chronic federal deficit in just a few years, Congress and the president are moving toward an agreement that would blow to smithereens hopes for a long-term balanced budget. They want to put the proverbial cart before the horse.In this case, it means placing priority on a Christmas tree filled with tax-cut goodies for voters -- education tax incentives, lower capital gains and estate taxes, child tax credits, new retirement-savings accounts.

Harford's property owners will receive some minor tax relief next year, when a newly enacted credit takes effect. The Harford County Council lowered the 10 percent cap on the Homestead Tax Credit by 1 percentage point starting July 2008. The council expects to take the cap down to 8 percent by 2011. With the average property assessment rising at least 40 percent every three years, the Homestead Property Tax Credit caps the amount of property tax an owner-occupant must pay by limiting the annual increase in taxable assessments.

WASHINGTON -- Significant tax relief and regulatory reform must occur to help pull the nation's beleaguered airlines out of their financial hole, a federal commission created to study the industry reported yesterday.The 15-member commission, created by President Clinton and Congress to study the plight of the airline and aerospace industries, formally proposed a two-year exemption from the new, 4.3 cent-per-gallon federal fuel tax, along with cuts in other taxes, such as those imposed on passengers and cargo.