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3880
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VETOES
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this decision to the Maryland Tax Court. The word
"Department" refers to the State Department of
Assessments and Taxation. Thus, notwithstanding that
assessment of property was a county function prior to
1973, certain decisions affecting the assessment of
certain personal property were made even then at the
State level, and Section 258 provided the taxpayer with
the right of appeal from those decisions.
When the State assumed the assessment function in
1973, Section 258 was not changed. Today, most decisions
with regard to ordinary taxes are made at the county
level, and appeal procedures are provided in Sections 255
and 256 of Article 81. However, some assessment
decisions continue to be made at the central office in
Baltimore. Section 258 of Article 81 thus is still
applicable, but only to appeals from those few decisions
which are not now made at the county level. House Bill
928 attempts to make the distinction clear.
With this background in mind, let us turn to the
language of Section 258 as amended by House Bill 928:
"any taxpayer, any city, the county commissioners of
any county, or the Attorney General on behalf of the
State, claiming to be aggrieved because of any final
action taken by the Department with respect to
ordinary taxes not assessed locally assessable by it
in assessing or refusing to assess or in reassessing
or refusing to reassess, classifying or refusing to
classify, any property or computing any tax, or
increasing, reducing or abating any assessment, may
appeal to the Maryland Tax Court as provided in §
229 of this article. Such appeal shall be taken
within thirty days from the date of the order,
action or refusal to act of the Department
complained of, or if an address shall have been
filed as provided in § 257 of this article, then
within thirty days after the date of delivery or
mailing (whichever is earlier) of a copy of such
order, action or refusal to act to such address.
This section does not apply with respect to ordinary
taxes or assessments for ordinary taxes for which
appeal procedures and appeal to the Maryland Tax
Court is provided by Sections 255 and 256 of this
Article."
I find this language to be absolutely
unintelligible. The Director of the Department of
Assessments and Taxation agrees that no one, except
possibly a few members of his staff, will be able to
understand what this bill says, much less what it means.
The clarity of statutory language is an objective for
which we must always strive; and the importance of that
objective is only heightened when the statute deals with
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