MACo Associate Director Barbara Zektick testified, on the sponsor panel along with NAIOP Maryland Chapters Vice President for Policy and Government Relations Tom Ballentine, on Senate Bill 999 before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. As introduced, the bill would have broadly exempted certain real property transfers from the county recordation tax. However, NAIOP and MACo agreed to consensus amendments which limited the application of the bill to limited partnerships and only certain refinances performed by parties other than the original mortgagor.

From MACo Testimony:

This bill would exempt certain property transfers from recordation taxes – some of which are already exempt under existing law, or else a solid policy reason exists to make them exempt through this bill. Other property transfers that would be exempted by the bill, however, are unintentional, substantive changes to existing law that may significantly affect county revenue. Counties request that those transfers be amended out of the bill.

For more on this and other legislation, follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2018 legislative session here.