Wednesday, March 24, 2010
House Committee Approves Property Tax Semiannual Payment Bill
The House Ways & Means Committee approved legislation (HB 484)that would allow many small business owners to pay their property taxes in two installments.
Since 1995, homeowners have had the option to pay their real property taxes in two installments - one half by September 30 and one-half by December 31. The General assembly provided this payment plan option to homeowners recognizing that some property owners had difficulty paying their taxes in one lump sum. More than 30 states allow all real property owners to pay their property taxes in installments. In these tough economic times, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce believes extending the semiannual payment option to businesses would be helpful.
“The Maryland Chamber thanks the Ways & Means Committee for supporting this bill,” Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt said. “Many small businesses are experiencing difficult cash flow problems as sales decrease and customers disappear. Allowing small business owners to pay their property taxes in two installments, just like homeowners, could be a significant help to some businesses.”
The bill would allow owners of commercial real property with an annual property tax bill of less than $50,000 to pay their property tax in semiannual payments. Similar legislation died without a vote last session. This year’s bill has many more sponsors and broad, bi-partisan support. Special thanks to bill sponsor Del. Donald Elliott (R-Dist. 4B) for his hard work on this issue.
Similar legislation will be heard in the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee today. The Senate bill, SB 1083, would allow all real property owners to pay their property taxes in semiannual payments.
For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
