A bill before the Baltimore City Council proposes to raise taxes on certain property sales in order to fund affordable housing projects. It is estimated that the tax would raise $20 million and be a dedicated funding source for the affordable housing trust fund that was approved in 2016 without a designated revenue source.

From The Baltimore Sun:

A bill being introduced in the City Council on Monday would increase the city’s 1.5 percent transfer tax to 2.1 percent and the recordation tax from 1 percent to 1.4 percent. The increases would apply only to properties sold to owners who intend to rent the buildings, not to buyers who intend to live in them.

…

Matt Hill, an attorney at the Public Justice Center and a member of the group, said the tax represents a small proportion of each property sale but would have a big effect in Baltimore’s blighted neighborhoods by creating jobs, eliminating vacants and building permanent affordable homes.

To learn more read The Baltimore Sun.