Alsobrooks took improper tax breaks on DC and Maryland properties
Angela Alsobrooks, the Maryland Democratic Senate candidate, faces scrutiny for receiving tax breaks she was not eligible for, which allowed her to save thousands of dollars in taxes on properties in Washington, D.C., as well as Maryland.
According to the property records and tax invoices reviewed by CNN between 2005 and 2017, Alsobrooks was able to save almost $14,000 on taxes for her Washington property, by using tax exempts meant for lower-income, senior, and primary residents.
Records show Alsobrooks has claimed homestead tax relief intended for someone’s main residence for more than a decade. This is in violation of state and local tax relief laws. Public records reveal that Alsobrooks doesn’t live in the district. She has been registered to cast a vote in Prince George’s County since 1995. She is currently the county executive in that county and supervises the budget and tax division.
She received a tax credit for seniors with low incomes on her Washington home, which cut her tax bill by half. CNN reports that Alsobrooks, at age 53, does not qualify for this tax break, but her grandparents who owned the house before her did.
CNN reported that a senior adviser to Alsobrooks said she was not aware of the situation. Her attorneys are currently working with Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia, Maryland, in order to resolve it. Senior adviser to Alsobrooks Connor Lounsbury told the Washington Examiner That Alsobrooks started paying the mortgage for her grandmother’s home in northeast Washington when she moved out and continued until the house was sold in 2018.
Lounsbury stated that the woman was not aware of any tax credits associated with the property. She has contacted the District of Columbia in order to resolve the matter and pay any required payment.
Alsobrooks purchased a townhouse in Maryland in 2005. She received a homestead exclusion in 2008. She rented out the house but kept the primary resident exemption. CNN estimated that she saved at least $2600.
Her campaign pointed out that Alsobrooks’s primary home is another house in Prince George’s County, but she doesn’t receive a homestead exclusion.
Lounsbury, Washington Examiner, said that when Angela purchased her new home the homestead credit from her old home was not transferred. Angela did not gain anything from this. She actually ended up paying more taxes than she would’ve had she received the credit. Angela, however, is trying to repay any credit received on the previous property.”
Alsobrooks faces former Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Larry Hogan is running for the open Senate seat in Maryland left vacant by retiring Senator Ben Cardin (D). In a poll conducted by Gonzales Research and media Services in early September, Alsobrooks led Hogan by five points (46% to 41%).
Blake Kernen, Hogan’s spokesperson, told Washington Examiner that it was “deeply disturbing” that Angela Alsobrooks believed the rules didn’t apply to them. “She campaigned on raising taxes, but failed to pay hers and took advantage of tax credit reserved for the elderly and poor. She claims that she is unaware of the tax laws, which it was her responsibility to enforce. “Governor Hogan has always stood for taxpayers, and he will continue his fight in the Senate for fairness and fiscal prudence.”
Hogan frames himself as an anti Trump Republican while running for Senate in Maryland’s deep blue. Democrats, on the other hand, are trying to portray Hogan as an unreliable “Never Trumper” and Alsobrooks accuses her opponent of being “MAGA-enablers” who would give Republicans the Senate.
In the September poll, 56% said that they would vote Trump, and 35% for Harris.
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