Baltimore is flirting with a tax rewrite that would make vacant land the expensive part of the property equation. A City Council proposal would explore taxing land and buildings at different rates, with supporters saying it could push owners to build on or sell off long-idle parcels while helping attack roughly 11,600 vacant properties. The idea is still at the hearing stage, but it arrives as the city’s separate vacancy tax begins taking effect.
David Williams of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance told WBFF that a split-rate system could encourage development and improve the condition of Baltimore’s nearly 12,000 abandoned properties. The pitch is straightforward: Make it harder to profit from sitting on empty land and easier to justify investing in the buildings that sit on it.
What The Council Is Actually Considering
A bill introduced by Councilman Zac Blanchard calls for a public hearing on how a split-rate property tax could affect Baltimore, according to a Baltimore Sun report carried by ArcaMax. The proposed hearing would bring in the city departments overseeing housing, finance and planning, along with the Baltimore Development Corporation, Live Baltimore and the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.
This would not instantly create a new citywide tax rate. Instead, the Council would be weighing whether Baltimore should tax land at a higher rate while taxing buildings and other improvements at a lower rate, a structure supporters say could reward construction, rehabilitation and denser development…