Metro is pushing Montgomery officials to exempt the transit agency from paying the county’s steep, new energy taxes, saying it will cost the agency nearly $3 million this year.
In a letter to Montgomery County Attorney Marc Hansen, obtained by The Washington Examiner, the agency says it is “exempt from all taxes legally imposed on it” and that the new charge should be removed from its energy bills.
Metro would need to find another $2.8 million to pay for the energy taxes, according to officials. If the agency were taken off the hook, it would create the same hole in the county’s budget — which relies on higher energy taxes for government agencies to inject millions of dollars into depleted county coffers.
“[Metro] was established by the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and Congress as a tax-exempt entity” said Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates. “This means that no government is authorized to impose a tax on [Metro’s] activities to support general governmental expenses.”
Metro riders are paying record-high fares to generate an estimated $110 million this year. The agency recently implemented new “peak of the peak” fare increases, raising the charge for commuters by 20 cents per ride during the busiest weekday ridership times in the morning and evening.
Gates declined to say how the agency would generate additional money, saying officials were waiting for a response from the county attorney.
But county officials didn’t wait to slam the request.
“[Metro’s] claim is ridiculous,” said Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for County Executive Ike Leggett. “Businesses, individuals and government agencies have to pay the energy tax; it’s very clear-cut.”
The county budgeted $245 million this year to cover energy tax payments for all its departments, a $92 million increase from last fiscal year, Lacefield said.
The tax on electricity and natural gas will cost county residents, on average, $150 more this year. It was a centerpiece of Leggett’s plan to plug a $1 billion budget gap for the fiscal year that began in July.
The average Montgomery homeowner will pay $251 in energy taxes, and nonresidential energy taxes will swell to an average of $4,042 annually, for a 54 percent bump.
