A task force meant to examine the impact of a new senior tax cut may not have enough time to make recommendations on Howard County?s new code, some council members said Tuesday.
“I do think time is potentially an issue,” Council Member Courtney Watson, D-District 1, said at a council work session.
Council Chair Calvin Ball, D-District 2, introduced a bill last month that would form the task force to study the law passed unanimously in October. The law grants a 25 percent tax cut to seniors more than 70 years old making less than $75,000 a year.
If the bill passes, the task force would begin meeting Jan. 19. For the council to have time to legislate any changes to the tax law before it goes into effect in July, the task force would have to present recommendations to the council by Feb. 22.
Concerns arose at the time the law passed that the council rushed to pass the bill, and “now we?re talking about rushing through, in four weeks, almost the same scenario,” said Council Member Greg Fox, R-District 5. Fox also questioned whether the council should re-examine the bill in a year, after it goes into effect in July.
However, Ball said the group would be composed of people familiar with the issues, who have been “on notice” since the bill passed last fall.
“It?s not really a new issue for the task force as it arguably could have been for the council members” who passed the bill, Ball said.
Ball also said the group could evaluate it now, and there could be a more comprehensive review later.
“The downside would be we go through the entire year with a piece of legislation that we could spend a little time and make it better first,” he said.
The council also discussed the task force?s membership, and Watson said it should be inclusive, and the law forming the group might need to specifically list which groups would participate.
“If we are going to evaluate it, we should evaluate it thoroughly with a broad base,” Watson said.
