MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally this week testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in opposition to HB 215 – Personal Property Tax – Depreciation of Assessed Value. This bill would conform Maryland’s personal property depreciation schedule with federal law, which allows taxpayers to fully depreciate the value of certain personal property.

This bill would drastically undermine county revenue structures and deplete limited local funds for public health, schools, public safety, roadway maintenance, and other essential public services for Maryland families.

From the MACo testimony: 

HB 215 proposes to dramatically alter the longstanding personal property depreciation schedule without sufficient justification. Under current statute and regulations, personal property generally depreciates over an eight year cycle. Following the eighth year, the property remains at 25 percent of value and is assessed on this percentage of value until the property is no longer in use. Many classes of personal property have a life span of much greater than eight years.

Counties are willing to work with state policymakers on efforts to reduce burden on businesses through the personal property valuation processes. However, the significant costs of this bill are simply untenable. Cuts of this magnitude on essential government services would wreak havoc on public health, public safety, education, and quality of life for shared constituents.

More on MACo’s Advocacy:

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2022 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.
Learn more about MACo’s 2022 Legislative Initiatives.
Read more General Assembly News on MACo’s Conduit Street blog.