Opinion: Setting a limit on developer tax deals in Baltimore

One of the criticisms of Baltimore’s approach to taxes raised by Renew Baltimore’s unsuccessful effort to roll back the city’s property tax rate is that the current approach smacks of preferential treatment, and that is unquestionably true. When the city inks deals that abate taxes for deep-pocketed developers seeking to build projects in parts of the city that have already attracted significant investment, the average homeowner in a distressed neighborhood is inclined to wonder: What about me? Throw in the appearance (at minimum) of racial bias as Baltimore’s high-value projects are often in predominantly white neighborhoods, and the contrast between have’s and have-not’s becomes even more alarming.