I just got one of mine and I have to tell you......I am a bit confused. I looked at one of my bills and it was $135.00 more than it was last year. 11%! What happened to a 2% property tax revenue cap?
I called County Fianace and expressed my concern over an 11% tax increase. The young lady told me that my property assessment had gone up and that explained the increase. I asked her about the 2% cap and she stated that she had never heard about anything like that.......and asked where I got that from. I explained that several years ago it was a pretty big deal here in this county. So big, in fact, that it was brought to a vote of the people by a tremendous effort of a handful of people.......a vote which put a law in place that capped the total increase in revenue generated by property taxes to 2% per year. She placed me on hold and then came back to tell me that the 2% cap was on everything - not just property taxes. That's not the way I understand it........anyway.......I contacted Don Coffin. Don was one of the people who spearheaded the effort to bring the whole matter to a referendum vote. Don stated that it was in fact a 2% cap on only revenues generated by property taxes.
SO.....if my taxes went up by 11% - and I'm sure I'm not the only one - other peoples taxes would have had to go down DRASTICALLY in order to stay within the 2% cap.....right?
Has anyones taxes gone down 11%?
Keep this in mind. In Wicomico County the total property assessments have increased in value over 1/2 a BILLION dollars - yes BILLION.
Someone tell me where I'm wrong.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
22 comments:
You mentioned "one of mine" in referring to properties. The cap is for your primary residence only. Is this investment property, or listed by the state as not principle residence?
coffin is a jerk I dont mind if the taxes went up public safety & schools will benefit from it anyway LMB
grand dad , you can thank rusty molnar who implemented the largest tax increase in wicomico county for the citizens to go to referemdum for the 2% cap . don coffin was the main man for gettin the ball rollin and following thru to the end.rusty is a realatard now and has all the qualifications ,#1 ex county council prez who implemented the biggest tax increase in wicomico county to date 24%. #2 had several judgements againest him while in business for himself #3 is best buddies with old honest pete richardson. grand dad its not over yet city tax bills have yet to come.long live the tax cap !!!!!!!!
LMB....
I don't care if you like Don Coffin or not. I don't care if you disagree with the cap or not. In fact, you might be surprised if you knew how I feel about the cap. That wasn't my concern. My concern was that with the cap in place the tax on this property went up 11%.
Tax Guy.....are you sure? I never knew that there was a distinction made between investment property and that utilized as a primary residence. I don't remember that being listed on the ballot.
The reason your real estate tax bill went up is because of your State portion of your Property tax assessment rate increased dramatically under Ehrlich. (One of the downfalls for Ehrlich)
The Local - (Wicomico County Assessment) - portion is prevented from increasing more than 2% per year or indexed to the CPI whichever is higher.
I'm pretty sure the reason yours increased so dramatically is because they increased your assessed property value substantially higher than previous years.
I would appeal the decision . . . but it probably won't do any good because most of the appointed Appeal's Board members are of the Democratic party.
While the Republicans - generally -celebrate Independence Day . . the Democrats on the other hand - generally - celebrate April 15th.
My Assessment went from 96K to 192K this year, no improvements at all.
I sent in the challenge and their response was, nope, that's what we say its assessed value is. I checked with a couple realtors who said I'd never sell for more than 150K but that I'd lose if I continued to fight it so I just dropped it. I'm very pissed though.
I would think a "tax guy" would know what he is talking about, unfortunately not. The county as a whole cannot bring in more than 2% more revenue than the previous year from property taxes. It doesnt have anything to do with income tax or any other kind of tax. Tax guy may be referring to the homestead tax credit where your property tax cannot increase more than 10% on your principal residence. The 2% property tax revenue cap does not mean YOUR property tax wont exceed a 2% increase. It still astonishe me how so many people who supported this know nothing about it. It is ashame that the county cannot reap the benefit of the new growth that has occured in the area and apply those funds towards roads, schools, public safety etc. They may be able to capture income tax, but unfortunately with all the old folks flocking to the area, they have their bucks sheltered pretty well. I mean look at it, the counties 2% increase can be reached by reassesments of existing properties alone. That means that any NEW homes arent really contributing any more to the pot (in regards to property tax) It does however make a good pitch for the realtors trying to sell property in the area. Right Don? No one likes taxes, but everyone wants the services. You cant have it both ways. The effects from the PTRC will felt. Don isnt some messiah, he asked a question that was a no brainer, Who doesnt want more taxes? Sign here. But if you UNDERSTAND it, alot of those people who voted in favor of it, would probably vote differently. They will probably change their minds when the roads have totally fallen apart, along with the schools. But who cares? My tax bill is lower.
SELL, SELL, SELL! Move to Delaware where life is GREAT! Taxes are 1/4 or less than Maryland, trust me on that one. Delmar is about to BOOM with Development as they're planning on thousands of new homes starting construction in one year.
Well said 7:08
I absolutely agree with Joe.
I've worked in Delaware almost exclusively for the past five years.
Although it has a few glitches, by and large, it offers dramatically a better quality of life.
Marxism isn't ramphant like it is in Maryland. Tags are cheaper $20/yr., no sales tax, super low real estate taxes, most all jurisdictions require public referendums on school construction.
Heck, Delaware has an energy policy that rivals even Germany. Windmill project is now approved. . . what else can I say.
FLEE . . .FLEE . . .FLEE . . . Maryland is a SOCIALIST STATE.
Don Coffin is a super hero to Wicomico Co. like General George Patton was to the US during WWII.
The guy badmouthing Coffin must be on the public dole
I figured it out. State percentage stayed the same. County percentage went down. Bottom line still 11% higher. Since the state doesn't have a cap, it's percentage of a higher assessment equals a higher tax. The increases assessed amount actually forced the county to lower it's tax rate in order to stay within the 2% cap. I was having one of those "moments".
grand dad
Hold your horses now. . . because what I'm about to tell you is the truth.
Our adjacent sister County, Worcester, has a 5% assessment cap on the assessed value. Ours in Wicomico is 10%. . . but get this Talbot County's assessment cap is 0%. . .that's right 0%. The last time I checked they have not had an assessment increase in their property tax assessment -(County)- in over a decade. And Talbot also has a 2% revenue cap, and no inventory tax either.
MAKES YOU SCRATCH YOUR HEAD WHEN IT DOESN'T ITCH.
Bob, if you don't understand what is going on in the county then maybe you better rethink your desire to unseat Holloway!!
If you live in Del just wait for your electric bill. When Blue water builds those wind mills. You all will pay through the nose.
Anon 8:55....
I had a question and posted it for input. I got it figured out without too much problem. If your gonna keep throwing gouges at me at least have the balls to attach your name to it......otherwise it will always be nothing more than what it seems to be - a weak attempt to forward some political agenda.
It's the land transfer tax that is capped at 2%. Right?
I take it transfer tax being on property transfers? Isn't that tax different than property taxes? Looking to understand this better, get's me confused.
We all expected a jump from the new tax assessments. Glad I fell under homestead.
Grand dad....now figure in how much the town taxes will be going up since the assessments have gone up.. :(
No Tim. The revenue that is capped at 2% is that which is obtained from property taxes county wide. The total revenue received by the county from property taxes cannot increase more than 2% per year. Most real estate assessments increased dramatically this year over last. When I saw that and then I saw my taxes increase by 11% I was perplexed. After I looked at it some more I realized that the state tax portion of the property tax (which isn't capped) is where the increase occurred (due to the increased assessment). If you look carefully at your tax bill you just might find that your county tax rate actually went down. If it didn't decrease, the counties portion of the property tax would have exceeded the 2% cap.
Thanks Grand Dad. That cap was put in place because of a rougue council that got carried away. If we had Impact Fee's like smart growth does, that cap wouldn't hurt so much.
Anon 7:08 PM
I was referring to the homestead credit.
FWIW, I am not a real estate tax expert. I am an accountant who deals with business and personal income taxes.
homestead tax credit is for primary resident homes. hike is raised in increment steps over a period of years if you are under homestead protection
all others from what I can see are smacked with the full brunt of the city tax hike all in the first year
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