[RP TownTalk] Budget and taxation

[Alice Ewen Walker]

The answer is yes -- a slightly larger share of your annual taxes go
to the county. To see the rates, check the table at:
http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/stats/cytr.htm

The line labeled "Prince George's County in Riverdale Park" is our
county tax (.798 per $100) and the line labeled "Riverdale Park in
Prince George's County" is our town tax (.641 per $100). Those are the
rates for 06/07.

The county assesses a lower tax rate for areas within municipalities
in recognition of the services provided by the municipality, such as
policing. For instance, if we eliminated our police department (which
no one is suggesting), we could lower town taxes, but we would see an
increase in our county tax. The town would also stop receiving some
other sources of revenue, such as state police aid, that contributes
to our police budget.

The constant yield is helpful for understanding the impact of changes
in land value. Constant yield does not account for inflation or for
costs that outpace inflation (such as insurance, fuel etc.) - it is a
point of comparison calculation to express the same revenue as the
previous year.

-Alice Ewen Walker



On 5/15/07, Lisa Grob <lisagrob at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> Is the greatest chunk of our property taxes going to the county?