A new local personal property system was implemented in eleven assessment offices
with expansion planned for the remaining assessment offices in 1987. When installed,
the system permits automated Personal Property Tax Billing by the respective county
government and promotes the elimination of long lead time between assessment certifi-
cation and billing.

The Department participated in a cooperative venture with the License Bureau of the
Comptroller of the Treasury's Office to automatically provide our corporate information
and facilitate their computer pricing of traders licenses.

In addition, 1986 saw the installation of a new Renters Tax Credit Recording and Track-
ing system that is operational in the Tax Credit headquarter's office and the development
of a contract for acquisition of ten personal computers targeted for CAMA development
and word processing settings.

Operations

The Data Processing Division provided operational support for each office or divi-
sion of the Department by maintaining and operating over 600 software programs.

TAX CREDITS AND EXEMPT PROPERTY

Homeowners' and Renters' Tax Credits

The Homeowners' Tax Credit Program is one of the major property tax relief initia-
tives offered by the State of Maryland. It operates on the basis of household income and
is made available to all homeowners regardless of age. In the 1986-87 tax year, the total
funds disbursed for tax credits increased from $40,078,109 to $40,980,555. However,
the number of persons actually receiving the credit decreased by approximately 4,000.
The higher expenditure, coupled with the decrease in recipients, can be attributed to the
increasing income of some applicants while their property tax liability remained stable
or declined due to tax rate reductions. Other persons were eliminated from the program
because they chose to sell their dwellings on which they had received tax credits in prior
years. Table XIII compares the number of persons receiving the credit and the amount
of funds disbursed in FY 1986 and FY 1987. The majority of persons still receiving the
credit were granted a larger amount of benefit. The 1986 session of the General Assem-
bly had enacted changes in the tax credit law which increased the average credit by $15
for the 1986-87 tax year.

There was a moderate but steady growth again this fiscal year in both the funds dis-
bursed and the number of persons receiving benefits under the Renters' Tax Credit Pro-
gram. The amount of benefits granted to elderly and disabled renters increased to
$ 1,978,815. Part of the increase was due to a corresponding formula change in the Renters'
law enacted in the 1986 session. There was also an additional 496 persons receiving the
credit for a combined total of 9,296 eligible applicants. Table XIV compares the program
performance over the two years.

A major effort of the Tax Credit Division of the Department has been to simplify the
filing procedures for applicants while at the same time insuring the financial integrity
of the system by continually expanding the income audits.