Baltimore Sun: Tax Credit Errors For Some Baltimore Homes

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A newspaper investigation found the City of Baltimore has failed to collect millions of dollars because of chronic errors and miscalculations in a program offering tax breaks for historic renovations.

The Baltimore Sun reports Saturday that the mistakes in some cases span nearly a decade and that officials were alerted to similar problems in 1999.

The owners of nearly 1,200 Baltimore buildings benefit from the historic tax credit program, which aims to encourage preservation by forgiving a portion of property taxes on renovations for 10 years.

The paper found that of the program's 10 largest tax breaks alone, there were seven with errors totaling around $2 million in uncollected taxes. Officials told the paper they don't know how widespread the errors are.

Baltimore's deputy finance director told the paper the city would bill property owners for any unwarranted tax breaks from prior years.

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