Tax

The Waynesboro Borough Council has established a tax abatement program designed to stimulate economic development. On Wednesday, the council approved a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Abatement (LERTA) program and a map of eligible commercial and industrial properties. The council's efforts mirror ones in neighboring Washington and Quincy townships. The Waynesboro Area School Board and Franklin County (Pa.) Commissioners will be asked to extend similar tax savings, officials said.

Martinsburg City Council, which met Monday as a committee of the whole, recommended that City Manager Mark Baldwin be authorized to begin the process to apply to become a “home rule” city in West Virginia. Mayor George Karos and city council members received an explanation from City Attorney Floyd M. “Kin” Sayre III about the State Legislature's recent expansion of the home rule pilot program, which now will allow 16 more cities to apply to join four others already participating in the initiative.

Although the City of Hagerstown on Monday announced plans to keep the property tax rate the same for the upcoming fiscal year, a raise in assessments will cause property owners to still pay more. The estimated real property assessable base will increase by .27 percent, from $2.57 billion to $2.58 billion at the start of the tax year beginning July 1, according to a notice from City Administrator Bruce Zimmerman published on page A5 of Monday's Herald-Mail. In order to maintain the constant yield - the amount the city collected in property tax revenue this current fiscal year - the city would need to lower the current property tax rate.

Vinayaka Missions, which recently sold approximately 44 acres to Washington County Public Schools, has paid its overdue property taxes, County Treasurer Todd Hershey said Monday. The former owners of 10435 Downsville Pike, the site of the former Allegheny Energy headquarters, paid the $56,076.54 in overdue taxes and interest on April 24, Hershey said. Vinayaka Missions sold the land to the school system a week ago for $5.5 million. The school system plans to renovate the building on Downsville Pike so it can move its administrative offices, now off Commonwealth Avenue, to the Downsville Pike property.

Have you filed your tax returns and not received your refunds in a timely manner? Still wondering when your refunds will arrive? Peggy Riley, spokeswoman for the Internal Revenue Service, said a resource is available on the IRS website to easily check the status of your federal refund and find out when it is scheduled to arrive. After logging on to www.irs.gov , users can click on a link toward the right of the page that reads: “Where's My Refund?” There, tax filers need to input their Social Security number, filing status (i.e.

The Waynesboro Area School Board has whittled down a budget shortfall for 2013-14, preliminarily approving a $49 million spending plan that does not raise taxes. The board has until June 30 to adopt a final budget. On Tuesday, the district's business administrator, Thomas Dick, talked to the school board about an $832,765 deficit he had anticipated. He said the administration and school board's budget committee eliminated that deficit over the past month using several methods.

Berkeley County Council made no change to its levy rates Tuesday, but some property owners might still see an increase in their tax bills due to increased property values.    County Council President Anthony J. “Tony” Petrucci said Tuesday that the rates were left unchanged, even with the overall improvement in property values, to provide “a little cushion” for the county to operate. For the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the levy rate for Class II property, which includes owner-occupied homes, will be 27.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, according to county budget documents.

With no extended hours at the U.S. Post Office in Hagerstown on Monday and a midnight deadline to submit tax forms, people putting off their taxes were lining up on tax day to mail their forms to the IRS that morning and afternoon. Some local residents said that how late they wait to send in their taxes is determined by whether they owe money or expect money back, as well as the amount. Dave Hanna, 66, of Hagerstown, said that Monday was the first time he has not asked for an extension to send in his taxes in a while.

Even some people who don't normally procrastinate on doing their taxes might need to file for an extension this year. While the official IRS tax deadline is midnight Monday night, people who are submitting paper tax forms will want to get them postmarked before 5 p.m. Monday. The U.S. Post Office will not have extended hours, closing as usual at 5 p.m. time Monday, Hagerstown Postmaster Jared Myers said. For people who still need to file their Maryland tax returns, the Maryland Comptroller's downtown Hagerstown office, at 1 S. Potomac St., will be open until 7 p.m. Monday, spokeswoman Christine Duray Feldmann said.

The price of gas in Maryland, following a tax hike in the General Assembly, is on target to increase by 4 cents in July, with a series of percentage hikes to follow, lasting through the year 2016 - not to mention a permanent tie to inflation. All told, gas likely will cost 20 more cents a gallon by the time the hikes are phased in over the next three years. It goes without saying that rural Marylanders who do the most driving will pay a higher percentage of the new tax, at least on a per-capita basis.