Maryland "rain tax"

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SGM
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Maryland "rain tax"

Post by SGM »

Apparently a tax on roads, parking lots, driveways and buildings roofs has been passed and will go into effect in July. The area that diverts rainwater will be taxed. Non-businesses, non-profits and individuals will not escape the tax and may end up being a higher tax than real estate tax for some entities. Businesses will be charged $72 per every covered 1050 sq feet. Catholic Charities has 200 properties and will pay hundreds of thousands in tax. I hope they make exceptions for farms. Maybe it is time to let the developers have it all.

Maybe I will get the fire department to practice on some useless but historic barns I have left up. Most of the roadway is permeable gravel, I hope the aerial photographs will show that and not as covered square footage. :annoyed

Wow this plus the newly approved gas tax increases make this a lovely state. I may give up and move despite my source of free crabs. shrimp, oysters, and eastern shore corn. :(
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bertilak
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by bertilak »

To make this a relevant, actionable, discussion: Do not invest in Maryland REITs!

Let's see. A golf umbrella diverts rainwater and is about a square yard in area, or nine square feet. At $72 per 1050 square feet that's about $0.62 per year per umbrella. if a typical umbrella lasts 10 years that adds $6.20 to the price of an umbrella. So we shouldn't invest in Maryland umbrella dealers either.

Or any other Maryland business with a roof and a parking lot.
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
eucalyptus
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by eucalyptus »

Maryland's tax posture may also be of interest to those considering a move to the state. We have moved away from Maryland, in part because of the ever increasing state and local taxes and fees. Our accountant told us that one of the most frequent questions her firm receives is "how can I establish domicile in [insert your favoprite no income tax state]?"A recent thread on retiring to Montgomery County, MD aired related issues.
NYBoglehead
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by NYBoglehead »

I would suggest this is indeed actionable. Yet another tax/fee that doesn't exist elsewhere, should definitely be of interest to those looking to retire in Maryland or build their lives in Maryland. These are always very slippery slopes of course, I'm sure a "rain tax" would have been unimaginable not that long ago and here it is. Should be interesting to see what the next creative tax/fee is added going forward.
Buysider
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by Buysider »

I wish we had a bit more of that where I live. Unfortunately, paving over wide swaths of farm and forest pushes externalities on neighbors, especially those on the downhill side of watersheds. When something is priced at zero, like stormwater runoff, people don't do the cheap and easy things that could mitigate a lot of the damage of runoff. I have a rain garden, rain barrels, and permeable hardscaping ... wish more of my neighbors did, especially as erosion takes down trees downhill from me ...
Gnirk
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by Gnirk »

We live in Washington state, and our county of residence imposes "stormwater fees" based on the impervious surface on the property. The rate varies depending upon the type of property. Residential properties are taxed at a flat rate based upon the average impervious surface for a single family residence. In 2011, it was approximately $60.00 for a SFR under 1/2 acre.
sls239
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by sls239 »

I think that the financial pressure many state and local governments are facing right now are leading them towards more usage based taxes, matching the tax up with what causes those expenses to increase.

To that end, gasoline taxes and impervious area calculations both qualify as a move in that direction.

I would think that if a company engaged in an effort like that, they would be applauded for their good cost management practices.
Iorek
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by Iorek »

NYBoglehead wrote:I would suggest this is indeed actionable. Yet another tax/fee that doesn't exist elsewhere, should definitely be of interest to those looking to retire in Maryland or build their lives in Maryland. These are always very slippery slopes of course, I'm sure a "rain tax" would have been unimaginable not that long ago and here it is. Should be interesting to see what the next creative tax/fee is added going forward.
I don't think it's actionable-- lots of places around the country have stormwater management fees these days. The most "creative" thing about it is calling it a "rain tax". Here is an article from 2 years ago in USA Today that starts "New environmental regulations are prompting cities to impose fees on property owners for the cost of managing storm water runoff, the leading cause of water pollution in most of the nation."
SGM wrote:I may give up and move despite my source of free crabs. shrimp, oysters, and eastern shore corn. :(
If shrimp, crab, and oysters are what you like about Maryland, then I would suggest you should be in favor of trying to avoid polluting the Chesapeake Bay so it doesn't end up as one big dead zone.
NYBoglehead
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by NYBoglehead »

Why is calling it a "rain tax" creative? I guess in your judgment a "fee" is not creative?

Here in NY we have a lot of tolls on our roads. They aren't really tolls but instead are taxes. Ask anyone who lives here about the absurd debate about replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge. Turns out all the toll collections over the years don't go to infrastructure maintenance but instead to general governmental expenditures. I'm sure the same thing will happen in MD with these newly collected rain "management fees."
kitteh
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by kitteh »

NYBoglehead wrote:I would suggest this is indeed actionable. Yet another tax/fee that doesn't exist elsewhere.
I believe you are wrong. A relative who lives in NC mentioned to me some time ago that his locality was taxing impermeable surfaces. There is an environmental reason for this, of course, and it encourages people to use permeable surfaces for driveways.
kitteh
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by kitteh »

Buysider wrote:I wish we had a bit more of that where I live. Unfortunately, paving over wide swaths of farm and forest pushes externalities on neighbors, especially those on the downhill side of watersheds. When something is priced at zero, like stormwater runoff, people don't do the cheap and easy things that could mitigate a lot of the damage of runoff. I have a rain garden, rain barrels, and permeable hardscaping ... wish more of my neighbors did, especially as erosion takes down trees downhill from me ...
Exactly, my neighbors on both sides hardscaped the front of their properties and now I have a river flowing through my yard when it rains.
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Re: Maryland "rain tax"

Post by LadyGeek »

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