Sen. George Della, D-Baltimore City, is attempting to cap a long-standing property tax credit at $500,000 for new residential construction in Baltimore City.
“When we first started this program, we were happy to see people buying $200,000 to $300,000 homes,” he said. “They?re building residential units now [that cost] $1 million. Those people can afford to come here anyhow, and I don?t know why we have to give those people a break.”
A bill before the Senate on Wednesday would extend the tax credit, scheduled to expire in June, for another two years, until June 30, 2009.
The existing program allows a tax credit of 50 percent in the first taxable year, and the credit gradually decreases in 10 percent increments each year until it expires at the end of the fifth year.
Most ofthe credits have been applied in Federal Hill, Riverside, Fells Point, Canton and Martin Luther King Boulevard areas. Other Baltimore City senators said a similar proposal Della made had failed.
“We want to welcome everyone,” said Democratic Sen. Nathaniel McFadden, chairman of the city?s Senate delegation. “The majority of the credits are in areas that are under redevelopment.”
The House of Delegates passed the same bill last week, 137-0.
