Growth. It?s almost a foreign concept in Baltimore City, plagued for decades by a declining population and soul-rotting crime. That era of despair already shows signs of dying, the rebirth of the downtown and tiny trickle of new residents last year as evidence. And we will bury it shortly if Mayor Sheila Dixon and members of the City Council work quickly to cut property taxes as recommended by the city?s Blue Ribbon Committee on Taxes and Fees.
As the report from the 31-member group said, “Many believe that the high property tax rate serves as a disincentive for residents and businesses to locate in the City of Baltimore; the Committee is convinced that is the case.” We could not agree more.
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The city has tried everything to lure new people and create more jobs, and failed miserably on both counts. The state Department of Planning shows that the city lost about 46,000 jobs from 2000 to 2005 ? during the height of Mayor Martin O?Malley?s war against crime and salvation-by-tracking-statistics campaign. Investing in the city didn?t work either. The net gain of 897 people last year, according to the most recent Census count, came with a price tag of about $4 million per person, according to an Examiner analysis.
We would have suggested more aggressive tax cutting. The report calls for reducing the tax rate by 10 percent over the next two years and slicing it by about 32 percent over the long term ? which still leaves the property tax rate 50 percent higher than surrounding counties.
It also suggests a host of other measures, including higher income and hotel taxes and casino gambling, to ensure a steady revenue stream for the city ? not properly taking into account the revenue growth that lower taxes would generate for the city. A much better use of time would have been to focus on ways to cut waste from city government. But the report is a great start.
Property taxes currently more than double those in surrounding jurisdictions serve as a barrier to growth in the city and hurt everyone in Maryland through high subsidies paid to Baltimore from state taxpayers. Slashing them holds the promise of luring not only residents, but the businesses who follow them. It also means expanding the tax base ? the key to better city services ? and becoming a place that will force David Simon to look elsewhere to film “The Wire” and its sequels. Mayor Dixon could not ask for a more satisfying legacy.
