Comptroller: $21.4M in Local Tax Payments Misdirected

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland's top tax collector says his office accidentally misdirected $21.4 million of local income tax payments for years.

In September, auditors reported that the comptroller's office sent $8.7 million to the wrong Montgomery County municipalities. But media outlets report that Comptroller Peter Franchot told lawmakers Wednesday that his office found another $12.7 million has been misdirected since 2010 and the problem affects nearly every municipality in the state.

In coming days, 89 cities will receive checks, some totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another 83 cities must repay money they received in error.

The comptroller's office collects taxes for towns and cities, but some taxpayers were classified in the wrong taxing districts. The comptroller's office is working to fix the problem with its tax-processing software.

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