3/28/2007

Homebuilders, buyers could get taxed again
A Commentary by Chip Bertino

Western shore legislators in our state are at it once again, this time in the Maryland Assembly and Senate, doing what they can to make it more difficult for Worcester County residents to build new homes and putting even more stress on builders, especially small builders, to make a living.

House Bill 1220, The Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Green Fund, prohibits local governments from granting specified permits until a person pays an Impervious Surface Fee.  The money collected would provide funding to various state agencies and the restoration and management of the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays.  As amended, the bill would require builders to pay $.50 per square foot of impervious surface for residential construction and $1 per square foot for commercial construction.

Local governments would be able to retain 5% of the amount collected for administrative costs associated with administrating the program. 

In short, this bill, if passed by the Assembly and Senate and signed by the governor is a travesty, just one more opportunity for government to pick the pockets of hardworking people, attempting to care for themselves and their families.  Sure the bill has a ring of being for a higher purpose, keeping the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays clean.  Who can legitimately argue with that?  It sounds good but there are already a number of laws on the books to do this.  The most recent was the Coastal Bays legislation that was passed a couple of years ago that has hurt homeowners and builders in our area. 

This state, and especially this county, does not need another tax, and that's what it is, a tax.  At the recent Ocean Pines Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Worcester County Commissioner Judy Boggs mentioned this bill and its impact on the county.  Unfortunately her objection was not to the tax itself, but the fact that Worcester County would not benefit from the revenue generated because it would go just towards the Chesapeake Bay, and that it was unfair to rural areas.  Mrs. Boggs was correct in both instances, but it would have been even better for the county had she gone one step further and say she opposed the tax completely, which she did not. 

The bill was amended last week, lowering the tax charged.  As originally written regions outside what were defined as existing Priority Funding Areas (PFA) would have been charged $2 per square foot; those inside a PFA would have been charged $.25 per square foot.  Most of Worcester County would have fallen outside the PFA.  Farmers are pretty much exempt from the bill.

Regardless of what the tax amount is, it's unnecessary, unwelcome and will be another hurdle for homebuilders to jump over when attempting to sell a home.  Buyers don't care about anything but the bottom line.  Another $1,000 or so can make a difference, especially when added to many other taxes (local and county) charged when building a home.

Admittedly, the county commissioners cannot directly impact legislation in the Assembly and Senate, not just because they are a county body, but because Worcester County doesn't have enough throw weight in either state bodies that say Baltimore or Prince Georges counties has because of the number of legislators representing those areas.

It can only be hoped that this bill does not see the light of day.  

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