The State Department of Assessments and Taxation Property Assessment Workgroup held its fifth meeting on September 29th to brief the full workgroup on property tax exemptions and hold meetings of the physical inspection and timely property pickup subcommittees.

The property tax exemption presentation focused mainly on court decisions that have established the parameters for determining which properties are eligible for a charitable or educational property tax exemption. The presentation also reviewed SDAT’s property tax exemption procedures. Now that the full Workgroup has been briefed on this topic, the Tax Credits and Exemptions Subcommittee will hold its first meeting on October 17 at 10 am to begin examining discrepancies in the calculation of certain tax credits and exemptions and approaches for improving accuracy.

The physical inspections and timely property pickup subcommittees have blended their discussions and have focused on technological improvements to assist with the assessment process, better communication between the state and local offices, and greater accountability with the data that is provided to SDAT.

The fourth subcommittee on personal property and vendor services will hold its first meeting on October 20 at 10 am.

The next meeting of the full Workgroup will be held on October 17 from 1 pm to 4 pm.  All workgroup and subcommittee meetings are held at the Maryland Department of Transportation Headquarters at 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover, MD 21076.

Additional information about the Property Assessment Workgroup can be found on SDAT’s website and on Conduit Street.