Harford County?s representatives in Annapolis are skeptical of the County Council?s request to increase the tax on home sales, as many are generally opposed to new or higher taxes.
A resolution introduced last week by District A Council member Dion Guthrie and unanimously approved by the council will ask Harford?s state senators and delegates to give them the power to raise the county?s transfer tax to 1.5 percent of a home?s sale price, with two-thirds of the money raised going toward financing school construction.
But while the mostly Republican council passed the resolution, Harford?s mostly Republican delegation is leery of raising taxes.
Del. Barry Glassman, a District 35 Republican and head of the delegation, said the tax increase was unlikely, given rising property assessments that may drive existing tax revenue up anyway.
“With 54 to 58 percent increases, my district?s kind of in assessment shock right now,” Glassman said. “So they wouldn?t be very receptive to any increases in taxes.”
At the very least, Glassman said he?d like to see if the rising value of property increases tax revenue enough to make the transfer tax hike irrelevant, while additional housing that might come as the result of Base Realignment and Closure growth might eventually boost existing revenues further.
The increased transfer tax, which would apply to all home sales, would replace the “impact fee” that charges more than $8,000 for every new home built in the county, Guthrie said.
He said he hoped it would spread the tax burden more evenly, but some delegates said they felt it would run counter to the county?s goal of encouraging residential redevelopment.
“I think it?s an unfair tax,” said Del. Donna Stifler, a freshman Republican from District 35. “We want people to move into the existing homes and control growth.”
While Guthrie said the county could have raised three times as much with a transfer tax, other county ordinances halting new development in crowded school districts is also limiting revenue from the impact fees.
“They?re not netting the money they?d hoped because of the [Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance],” Stifler said. “If you?ve got a development moratorium, you’re not going to get money from new developments.”
