City Income Taxes Avoided

[AllanY2525]

Yes, landlords are allowed to claim depreciation allowance on rental properties.
They can also claim deductions for maintenance and repairs, improvements in
energy efficiency, etc. 

The depreciation allowance is there to offset normal "Wear and tear" and if I remember
correctly, landlords are only allowed to claim the allowance for up to 15 years.

I already pay income taxes on the rental revenues for my Youngstown property to the
state of Maryland, as an out of state owner, when I file my returns.

The county already gets property taxes, and the city is already making landlords
pay annually for a rental license from the city (I currently pay for three licenses
every year, for a single property, because there are three living units at that
address).  I've passed city inspection each and every time I have renewed said
rental licenses.

Now, on top of this, the city makes EVERY property owner (rental or NOT RENTAL,
it makes NO difference) pay $100.00 a year for the PRIVILEGE of having an EMPTY
property - EVEN when that property is NOT a rental.

I think this is excessive.  It's like the city is penalizing EVERY property owner in the
city for owning an unoccupied structure.

The city says the money pays for more building inspections - does it really cost
$100.00 for one person to go to a property in the city and take a look around?
I don't disagree with the vacant property registration fee, but I do think it's too
high. $25.00 or so every year would be more reasonable.

I would be curious to see how much revenue has been generated by this new
ordinance - and how effectively it's being used.  With all the vacant properties
city wide, they are probably receiving a pretty large amount of money from
these fees.

For every 100 owners who pay this fee every year, that generates $10,000
in revenues for the city.  300 to 400 bulldings worth of fees should pay a building
inspector's salary for an entire year - and one would hope that a competent
inspector could do a at least a couple inspections per day.

I'm certain that those inspections also result in citations and fines - which generate
further revenues for the city.

All of this in a city where there are several THOUSAND vacant properties.....

[jay]

While attending a neighborhood meeting the other day, someone stated that the city of Youngstown could generate more income tax revenue (which has been declining) by aggressively going after landlord rental income which is not adequately tracked or taxed.

Maybe the fact that the city's income tax collection has been farmed out could be part of the problem.

A landlord in attendance stated that under current tax laws a landlord can deduct depreciation against rental income and basically show no net income.