Baltimore Hearing On Property Tax Cut

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes is holding a hearing on cutting property taxes.

Stokes says the hearing Tuesday is on a measure to create a charter amendment to cut the property tax rate in half over the next five years. The hearing will be before the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee.

Stokes says Baltimore's high property tax rate has become a deterrent to living in the city, along with crime and a poor education system. The councilman says he has been consulting with real estate experts, business leaders and homeowners who agree that his plan is economically viable and sound.

Several candidates for mayor are also calling for a cut in the city's property tax, which is twice that in surrounding jurisdictions.

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