Marylanders deserve a meaningful property tax cut

The recent editorial regarding property taxes is, without question, very timely (“Put lower property tax rates on the local government agenda in Maryland,” Jan. 9). If 2023 is not the most advantageous year for meaningful statewide property tax relief, when is? The state treasury is overflowing with federal moneys, and the locals are well off, too. The state should cut and appropriate the Rainy Day Fund for local benefit until one of the rating agencies begins to howl. The agency will not reduce the state’s AAA bond rating overnight, and the state may fend off objections by simply promising to replenish the fund over a few years.

But, your offering Annapolis the suggestion of only a fraction of a cent reduction is music to their ears. As you identified, the property tax hasn’t covered the bond debt service in years, so why limit the proposed benefit to only a fraction? There remain other additional sources to pay debt service.

This may be the opportune time for Gov.-elect Wes Moore to begin regular conversations on tax relief with the locals using the Maryland Association of Counties and Maryland Municipal League venues. Republicans always clamor for lower taxes so this suggestion will be a no-brainer. Democrats would recognize the social welfare component of tax relief that should sway their support.

Most of us, I believe, desire a meaningful reduction. Too many times with a few clients in the past, I witnessed the passage of a tax rate that included the promised tax break but it was usually less than $30.

With Baltimore County property taxes amounting to thousands in many communities, meaningful relief is not measured in double digits.