A Good Argument for Lowering Property Taxes

If anyone caught the Baltimore Sun on January 23rd there was an article on the argument for Baltimore City to lower it's property taxes. Jamie Hopkins from the Sun interviewed Loyola University Maryland (nee Loyola College) economics professor Dr. Steve Walters about his plan. I won't go into too much detail, because it's best to read what is said, but the basis of the plan is for the city to slash its property tax over the next 4 years. The result, Walters says, would encourage residents and businesses to move into the city, because the surrounding counties wouldn't be as cheap to live/work in as they once were. Additionally, the added population and commerce would offset (over time), any loss in revenue from dropping the tax rate.

Currently, Baltimore City has the highest property tax rate in the state of Maryland, at 2.268%. No other county in the state has a rate higher than 2% with the next highest in Baltimore County at 1.1%. With the upcoming Mayoral election this should be a hot topic.

The question remains though, which mayoral candidate (or current mayor) has the guts to do this, for the future of the city?

Comments

  1. mmmRamenFebruary 8, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    well right now all candidates are campaigning on slashing it in half.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Human AmericanMarch 1, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    All of them except the one who will win - SRB. She's raised about 5 times the funds as the next best funded candidate, and the movers and shakers of this state are behind her. What a joke our elections are.

    ReplyDelete
  3. jhonApril 23, 2012 at 1:38 AM

    Lowering Property Taxes

    If you are a property owner, you are required to pay property taxes every year. You have to pay taxes on your home and your vehicles. In order to determine how much money you pay in taxes, the county in which you live employs a tax assessor. The assessor's job is to determine the value of the property that is going to be taxed. They multiply that value by a certain percentage in order to come up with how much money you pay in taxes.

    ReplyDelete

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