California Congressman Calls Maryland Home to Increase Tax Credit
Representative Pete Stark, the second-ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, in 2007 and 2008 saved a total of $3,853 in state and Anne Arundel County taxes on a Maryland waterfront home that he claims as his primary residence, according to Maryland tax disclosures.
Maryland officials, contacted by a Bloomberg reporter about the tax break Stark received, said they plan to look into his eligibility for it.
Homeowners in Maryland qualify for the tax credit for residences they use “for the legal purposes of voting, obtaining a drivers license, and filing income tax returns,” according to the Maryland Assessment Procedures Manual.
Stark, 77, confirmed in a telephone interview last week that he and his wife, Deborah, are registered to vote in Californias 13th congressional district using the address of her parents in San Lorenzo, about 25 miles southeast of San Francisco. Stark also said both he and his wife have California drivers licenses.
Inquiry Planned
Joseph Glorioso, the Maryland supervisor of assessments for Anne Arundel County, said he would investigate Starks eligibility for the tax break after being told of the congressmans comments. “It doesnt sound like he should get the credit,” Glorioso said. “Now that youve brought it up, I have to make an inquiry.”
Stark, in the telephone interview, said, “Insofar as I know, Im obeying the law.” He said that he stays in the Maryland home about two-thirds of the year and that, “I dont have, I dont own another residence.” He also said he rents an apartment in his district where he stays when he is there.
Stark is not alone among politicians who have claimed the tax credit. Last week, the Associated Press reported that U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, was declared ineligible by Maryland officials for the tax break he has been receiving for a home he owns in Montgomery County, Maryland, a Washington suburb. A state official said her office is reviewing the eligibility of other members of Congress who own property in Montgomery County and claim the credit.
Special Privileges
Questions about the tax credits some lawmakers claim come amid growing public anger over special privileges for the well- connected, both in the public and private spheres. Senator Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who heads the Senate Banking Committee, faces a potentially tough re-election bid next year because of reports that Countrywide Financial Corp. gave him a discounted mortgage. American International Group Inc. became the target of congressional wrath this week because of its payment of more than $165 million in bonuses to employees who were partially responsible for the companys financial distress.
Stark would save $3,770 under the credit this year on his 3,600-square-foot home located on 6.35 acres in Harwood, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay, according to state tax records. The home, with an assessed valuation of $1.7 million, is located about 30 miles east of the U.S. Capitol and 12 miles south of Annapolis, Maryland.
Applications Sent
Young said the state has been sending applications to determine eligibility to about a third of Maryland homeowners each year, beginning in December 2007. The form asks, among other things, whether a property owner uses the address in registering to vote and obtaining a drivers license.
Stark, who has served in the House since 1973, said in a telephone interview yesterday that he had recently filed the form. If he was deemed ineligible for the tax break, “then Id pay whatever the tax was or the state would take my home away,” he said.
Young said his staff told him an application for the tax credit was submitted for Starks property on Feb. 6. Young said its likely to be rejected.
“When we process that application, we will deny it based on that factual situation,” Young said when told of Starks responses about his ties to California. “As long as you answer those questions truthfully, youre not going to run afoul of anything. But at the same time were not going to grant the credit going forward” if a homeowner doesnt meet the criteria.
Refunds Wont Be Sought
Young also said the state doesnt plan to seek recovery of all tax breaks granted in past years.