Cities run on tax dollars (other people’s money). When people who can afford to pay their taxes don’t like the services they are getting for their tax dollars they move out. Those that can’t afford to pay their taxes get pushed out.

The politicians and their friends then try to lure new residents (suckers) in to keep the gravy train (taxes) that they live off going.

This article is poorly written. Property tax rates are inversely related to assessed values for homes. When properties are worth less money they township or city needs to have a higher assessed rate to cover its expenses. The taxes are not necessarily "higher than what they should be", it's just that the property tax rate needed to cover community operating expenses is higher when the average assessed value of homes is 250k vs 1M. Eg. The median home value in Baltimore City is 220k, and the property tax rate is 2.24%. In MOCO, the Median property value is 660k and the median property tax district rate is 1.25%.

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore is in the middle of revitalization effort just like DC had done. They need these folks to move out.

“Revitalization effort”. Is that what you people are calling it now? I guess it sounds more modern than “manifest destiny”, or even “gentrification “.

It's not news that Baltimore city has insanely high property taxes. Or that people don't pay them. Or that the vast majority of people who live in Baltimore city are Black.

How did you make this into discriminatory practice?

It's just basic governmental mismanagement. I live in Baltimore county and would never, ever live in Baltimore city - even though some of the houses are beautiful.

The tax lien system needs serious reform. This happens here in DC as well:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2013/09/08/left-with-nothing/?hpid=z1

Baltimore is in the middle of revitalization effort just like DC had done. They need these folks to move out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article isn’t about what you are claiming it’s about.

True, but this a phenomenon in Baltimore that is worthy of discussion. It’s happened to the parents and grandparents of many people I know. Why is it happening without more outcry?

Nice clickbait.

It's worth reading the article. The Baltimore woman tried to pay back her taxes. She was behind by $5,000. She ended up paying them almost $19,000 to try to make it right, but the City applied those taxes to the new owner's account.

That's what needs to be fixed. It's not about giving someone a break because they are Black. It's because nobody cares when Black people get screwed like this and someone needs to be held accountable.

Are you asking for a race based waiver of property taxes OP?

Pay your damn taxes and it won’t happen.


No sympathy for tax scofflaws.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article isn’t about what you are claiming it’s about.

True, but this a phenomenon in Baltimore that is worthy of discussion. It’s happened to the parents and grandparents of many people I know. Why is it happening without more outcry?

I live in Baltimore City. The property taxes are obscenely high, it’s true. But they’re not high because residents are black.

Anonymous wrote:The article isn’t about what you are claiming it’s about.

True, but this a phenomenon in Baltimore that is worthy of discussion. It’s happened to the parents and grandparents of many people I know. Why is it happening without more outcry?

The article isn’t about what you are claiming it’s about.

"some local governments like Philadelphia have layers of protection for vulnerable homeowners, such as requiring in-person notifications before a tax sale or offering payment plans to redeem a home afterward"

Why is City of Baltimore stealing houses from Black residents?

Baltimore not all places should have the Black voter base to keep the government in check.

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/highballed-disproportionate-property-taxes-forcing-americans-homes/story?id=124312846

"Anderson's home was just one of nearly 44,000 Baltimore properties that were listed at municipal tax sales from 2019 through 2023. It was also among the 92% of those properties located in majority-nonwhite neighborhoods -- which account for 70% of parcels citywide."

"ABC's analysis found that across the country, homeowners in predominantly Black and Brown areas tend to pay higher taxes than those in mostly white neighborhoods for a house worth the same amount on the open market."