tax credits

Tax season officially kicks off Wednesday, later than usual because lawmakers only this month passed legislation to address expired tax cuts. The IRS needed time to update its forms and systems.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is planning to introduce legislation to the City Council next week that will provide generous tax breaks to builders of apartment buildings downtown and in six other neighborhoods.

Robin McKinney is the director and co-founder of the Maryland Creating, Assets, Savings and Hope (CASH) Campaign, which provides free tax preparation for low- to moderate-income households in the state.

The Howard County Delegation Wednesday moved a bill forward establishing a tax credit for commercial redevelopment along Route 1, while delaying action on a bill authorizing union employees the right to unionize.

Gov. Martin O'Malley released a $37.3 billion spending plan Wednesday that for the first time in recent years contains no drastic cuts or proposed tax increases.

Budget gets good reviews from fiscal leaders

After being thwarted the past two years by skittish lawmakers, Gov. Martin O'Malley is preparing once again to introduce a bill aimed at planting mammoth wind turbines off Ocean City — and the measure may finally pass, thanks to a shake-up in a committee that stifled it last year.

Towson-area legislators will be tackling issues both fresh and familiar during the 2013 legislative session, which begins on Wednesday, Jan. 9 in Annapolis.

Residential property values in the southwestern Route 40 areas of Harford County plummeted by 15 to 20 percent since 2009, while those in northern Harford and the Havre de Grace area dropped by an average of 7 percent, according to the latest round of property tax assessments.

Last year Washington D.C. saw one of the largest population increases in its history; what can Baltimore learn from the District's growth spurt?

The agreement between the president and Republicans in Congress over the fiscal cliff sets the stage for more damaging fights over federal spending and taxes.

Hours before a midnight deadline would have ushered in an enormous tax hike on ordinary Americans, the White House reached a tentative deal with Congress on Monday to raise taxes on the wealthiest households while putting off tougher spending decisions for another battle in a couple of months.

Baltimore residents have endured a year of challenges created by their city government. Water bills arrived in some mailboxes with erroneously exorbitant sums. Property tax bills similarly were miscalculated with homestead and other credits going to owners who didn't qualify for them.

The deadline for homeowners to apply for the Homestead Tax Credit, which saved the average Baltimore homeowner more than $1,000 on this year's tax bill, is coming up Dec. 31. As the deadline gets nearer, real estate agents and community leaders are helping raise awareness of the impending deadline.

Harford County homeowners who have not yet taken advantage of the Maryland Homestead Tax Credit must postmark their application to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation by Dec. 31 or lose that benefit.

Children stand to lose the most from a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

Several developers have announced plans in the last few days to convert downtown commercial buildings into market-rate apartments, giving new life to buildings that were being underutilized.

Grotech Ventures will be the first venture capital firm to invest in Maryland startup companies using $12 million in state money as part of the InvestMaryland program, state economic development officials said Wednesday.

While politicians spar in Washington over how to keep the nation from going over a "fiscal cliff," environmental activists warn that the wind-energy industry faces its own cliff if Congress doesn't act soon to extend a federal tax break for turbine construction that expires at the end of the year.

The Laurel city council unanimously approved an ordinance that offers residents who purchase foreclosed homes within the city limits a five year tax credit at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 26.

The Harford County Council heard resounding support Tuesday for County Executive David Craig's proposed 4 percent merit increase for all county employees.

Baltimore-born Oscar-winning director uses fact to create science fiction.

Three decades into its mission, Enterprise has become an agenda-setter for the affordable housing community and it is responding to a challenging period by reassessing its goals and charting new paths to reach them.

About 25,000 Baltimore homeowners who received the homestead property tax credit this year will lose the sometimes-large break if they don't apply for it by Dec. 31, the Baltimore City Council warned Monday.

So far, Howard County is largely on track with revenue projections for this fiscal year, budget director Ray Wacks told the County Council Tuesday.

The Howard County Council is the first county legislative body in the state to request the Maryland Public Service Commission to investigate electric power reliability in certain areas of Howard County and the first to institute a tax credit to encourage property owners to make their homes more accessible to seniors and persons with disabilities.

Audit of Maryland's Division of Unemployment Insurance finds the deceased, prisoners and state workers improperly collecting benefits

Beginning this week, Maryland's Department of Assessments and Taxation can begin penalizing homeowners who received, through deception, a homestead credit on this year's tax bill.

Baltimore's spending panel agreed Wednesday to sell the historic Senator Theatre at a $310,000 loss — over the objections of the city's comptroller.

Senator Theatre's ownership is being transferred from Baltimore's ownership to that of the current operators.

U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, a Towson Democrat who represents part of Howard County, has introduced a bill in Congress aimed to encourage politicians to choose to use grassroots donations to fund their campaigns instead of special interests.

It's getting tougher to redevelop neighborhoods in need of help. Baltimore got 30 percent less this year from two key federal programs for revitalization than it received before the recession, part of a nationwide reduction in aid for community development.

A bill to authorize property tax credit for homeowners installing certain universal design features within their homes received universal support at a County Council hearing Monday.

Mosby, Stokes vote against deal

More than 700 people turned out for workshops Tuesday intended to connect laid-off Sparrows Point workers and contractors with health insurance, training and other aid.

Terrasa said the tax credit is aimed to help households that would like to provide more accommodations for seniors or individuals with disabilities. She said it will be a good resource for families caring for relatives or seniors seeking to age in place.

A housing development is being proposed for a property behind Perryville town hall on Otsego Street that would utilize Department of Housing Community Development grants.

After more than 50 years in the same building, the Harford County Humane Society is working toward a new shelter.

For weeks city and state officials have been on a scavenger hunt. Their goal: To track down documents, if they exist, showing that 76 property owners in Baltimore have been legitimately receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in discounts on local property tax bills.

Talk in Congress of letting the District of Columbia tax commuters is getting a cool reception in Maryland.

The Baltimore Development Corp. is to hold a hearing Wednesday evening to discuss whether Harbor Point, the future home of Exelon Corp., should be included in a state-wide property tax program.

If Harford Community College's trustees approve a proposed power purchase agreement Monday evening, solar panels installed on rooftops of several building will result in very little financial liability for the institution but potentially large savings on the college's energy bills, HCC officials say.

Harford Community College looking into partnership with solar energy company to install solar panels

Instead of being graded on their academic performance by teachers, state lawmakers are graded on their voting records by various interest groups.

The ink was barely dry on Baltimore City¿s new property tax bills when we spotted fresh errors in the way some historic tax credits were recently calculated.

The tax bills on unsold condos at two luxury complexes in Baltimore just increased nearly $2.3 million, courtesy of assessments that acknowledge the units exist.