The senior tax credit could cost Howard much less than expected in its first year, but not enough data exists to determine if the credit should change, said the group charged with reviewing the tax cut.
Howard is not expected to pay more than $459,000 in credits, the Department of Finance said, far less than the $1.5 million to $2 million the county anticipated, according to the senior tax cut task force?s final report.
As of Oct. 9, Howard issued about 500 credits totaling $272,564, and other applications are being processed. This is far fewer than the estimated 1,800 to 2,400 eligible taxpayers.
“It?s tremendously under what we projected,” said Councilwoman Courtney Watson, D-District 1, adding that more seniors could be eligible for the credit.
The task force Tuesday urged the County Council to wait before making any changes to the law, which grants a 25 percent break to residents 70 and older making less than $68,500 and having assets of less than $500,000.
“There?s still a lot we don?t know,” task force chairman Ted Meyerson said.
The group suggested the council conduct a demographic survey to collect information such as age and income, and extend the task force so it can review the final results of the credit.
However, two task force members offered minority reports:
» Don Dunn suggested removing the assets requirement and not linking the county credit to the state credits. The county law requires residents to first apply for any state credits to reduce the amount of the county credit.
» Frank Chase suggested Howard eliminate property taxes for seniors making less than $30,000 and offer a schedule for granting a credit, giving a bigger break to residents making less money.
