Icon Agency History for department of assessments and taxation

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In 1959, the General Assembly created the Department of Assessments and Taxation (Chapter 757, Acts of 1959). Its origins, however, trace back to 1878, when the office of the State Tax Commissioner was established (Chapter 178, Acts of 1878). In 1914, the State Tax Commission replaced the commissioner (Chapter 841, Acts of 1914). The commission's duties were divided in 1959, with the Maryland Tax Court assuming the quasi-judicial duties of the commission and the Department of Assessments and Taxation its administrative functions. While the commissioner's and commission's duties centered on corporate-level taxes, assessment of real and personal property was performed by each county and Baltimore City. In 1974, however, the state assumed complete administration of local assessment offices and bore their full operational costs as well (Chapter 784, Acts of 1973). Maryland is the only state where the assessment process is fully centralized at the state level. The department is administered by a director, appointed by the governor to enforce property assessment and the property tax laws of Maryland. Specifically, the director supervises the assessment of all property in the counties and cities so that all similar kinds of taxable property are assessed alike. The director establishes a continuing method of property assessment, reassessing business personal property annually and real property on a three-year cyclical basis. For each county and Baltimore City, the director appoints a supervisor of assessments from a list of qualified candidates submitted by local authorities. In addition, the department provides clerical assistance to several local property tax assessment appeals boards and participates in all court proceedings where assessment questions are involved. The department through its charter division is custodian of domestic charters of corporations dating back to 1908, qualifications and registrations for limited partnerships since 1982, registration of trade names since 1992, and registration of foreign corporations. It collects specified fees and assesses corporations, certifying values to subdivisions who then apply local tax rates. The department administers franchise taxes applicable to the net income of banks and savings and loan associations and to the gross receipts of public service corporations. The Map Division prepared property location maps delineating boundaries of all land in each county. Drawn to scale and integrated into the state grid system, these maps show ownership, sizes, references, and natural and manmade features, and were used by the local offices to make property assessments. The department also prepared maps showing different grades of soil based on agricultural capability. The Map Division was abolished in 1992 as a budget reduction measure.