To the Editor:
In the current issue of the Potomac Almanac [March 26, 2014], Council Member Roger Berliner is advocating, among other things, a property tax credit of $692 for each owner-occupied residence to limit the burden on homeowners. I suggest that this proposal is inconsistent with the generally accepted definition of property taxes --- that is, they are supposed to be fairly proportional to the value of one’s residence. However, Mr. Berliner’s proposal results in a 35 percent reduction in the property taxes on a residence That currently pays $2,000 er year in property taxes, but only a 10 percent reduction in the property taxes of someone who currently pays $7,000 in property taxes. I am paying almost twice as much in property taxes as I pay in Maryland state income taxes. Upper income Marylanders and county residents may be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in state taxes, so it’s not like upper-middle class and upper class tax payers are not already paying more than their share of the tax bill. Reducing the property tax burden by $0.15 per $100 of assessed valuation, would be much fairer and consistent methodology to ensure that the property taxes are calculated in a manner consistent with their definition.
Davis S. Epstein, Potomac