MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally today testified in opposition to HB 557 Homestead Property Tax Credit – Calculation of Credit for Dwelling Purchased by First-Time Homebuyer before the House Ways and Means Committee.

This bill opens up property tax savings under the Homestead Property Tax Credit to be “transferrable” to first-time Maryland homebuyers. This dramatically undermines the longstanding policy purpose of the credit – to ensure stability in tax bills after the time of purchase.

From the MACo Testimony:

Counties oppose this bill because it compromises the basic nature of the Homestead Property Tax Credit, and threatens a severe fiscal impact to county budgets. The Homestead Property Tax Credit acts to essentially cap assessments of owner-occupied residences, so that a resident’s property  ax burden does not increase too substantially over the prior year. It provides consistency for taxpayers who live in and own their homes. Nearly every county has exercised their authority to lower their caps, providing security to homeowners beyond that which is required by the State.

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2021 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.