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If Baltimore County were required to
remove its exemption from this kind of
property, many millions of dollars to that
county alone would be involved.
By the same token, if we required Balti-
more City to come up to Baltimore County
and impose a tax on inventory a dislocation
of the economy of the manufacturers who
are located there would undoubtedly occur.
As a matter of fact, this was attempted
some years ago and in a prior administra-
tion, and it was met with such great hulla-
balloo that the then Mayor was required or
forced, really, to abandon his proposals.
So these cases where the practices have
had to take over in a sense and we have not
been able to require that all exemptions
shall be uniform, we have said that exemp-
tions as far as any tax the State shall im-
pose shall be uniform.
This then is an explanation of the re-
port, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions of the Vice-Chairman for clarifica-
tion?
Delegate Rybczynski.
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: Under sec-
tion 8.02-2, would you please be so kind as
to use the old age exemption in Baltimore
City as an example?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: The old age exemp-
tion is not an exemption, Delegate Rybczyn-
ski. It is a credit. It is not an exemption
from tax, it is a credit against the tax.
This does not apply to tax credits.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Rybczynski.
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: Would it
be fair then to say that it does not affect
the assessment, it merelv goes to the tax
itself?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: I would not say
that that might not be the case. I said
earlier why I was not going to detail the
method by which equalization could take
place. I think what you are referring to is
how the old age exemption or credit which
it really is, would affect section 8.02-1.
It could indeed be taken into considera-
tion by a board of equalization and re-
viewed under appropriate statutes passed
by the General Assembly.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Macdonald.
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DELEGATE MACDONALD: Delegate
Case, referring your attention to section
8.02-2, is there any provision in the present
Constitution relating to exemptions insofar
as local taxes are concerned?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Delegate Mac-
donald, you mean section 8.02-1?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mac-
donald.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: No, -2.
Exemptions. Your last section.
I understood you to say this applies
simply to taxes imposed by the State.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: That is correct.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Macdonald.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: Are there
any standards in the present Constitution,
similar standards relating to local taxes?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: No, there are none.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Macdonald?
DELEGATE MACDONALD: There are
none.
Well, going back to the matter of as-
sessments, do you agree with the decision
of the Court of Appeals in the Alsop case?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Had I been counsel
for the other side, I am not so sure I
would agree with it, but I can see how the
Court of Appeals reached the result it did
and having reached that result, the prob-
lem now is what to do about it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Macdonald.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: In view of
that decision, how are we going to restrict
the tax break which will result from your
recommended provision to bona fide farm-
ers?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: By the language
which is in line 8 of the section, as pre-
scribed by law. What that means, Dele-
gate Macdonald, is this, that the General
Assembly shall provide for a use exemp-
tion.
That is to say, it shall make the classifi-
cation, but how that classification is de-
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