Baltimore City Council considers tax hikes to pay for affordable housing

[corbe]

Baltimore City Council considers tax hikes to pay for affordable housing
Luke Broadwater
The Baltimore Sun

In a city where many struggle to make monthly rent payments, the Baltimore City Council is considering raising taxes on property sales and transfers to provide $10 million annually for affordable housing.

City Councilman Bill Henry submitted legislation Thursday to raise the recording fee by 20 percent and transfer taxes by 17 percent, respectively, to provide a “sustainable revenue source” for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund — a new fund created by the voters that currently has no money in it.

Henry said the tax increase would result in about $10 million more each year.

If passed, the bill would raise the recording fee charged on every $500 worth of property sold from $5 to $6. That means on the sale of a $100,000 house, about $200 would go to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

The transfer tax charged on property transfers would rise from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent. That means on the sale of a $100,000 house, about $250 would go to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-affordable-housing-20171207-story.html?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Contentutm_content=5a2c32b74b7385000ab1c808utm_medium=trueAnthemutm_source=twitter

[LMAO]

I’m figuring this will work just as well as Philadelphia’s
soda tax

[txradioguy]

How about cutting city taxes and fees that take money unnecessarily from people pockets that would allow them to afford housing?