This Application Is Not Open to Public Inspection
Every Tax Credit employee and every other Assessment Office employee associated with the program must recognize the importance of the
confidentiality restrictions attached to the Tax Credit information. A separate statutory provision at Section 1-301 Tax-Property Md.
Ann. Code (1986) states that an employee may not divulge or make known in any manner the federal return, federal return information, the
amount of income or any of the details set forth or disclosed in an application by a homeowner for a Tax Credit. Such income information
cannot be disclosed except in accordance with proper judicial or legislative order and except to an officer of the State or any political
subdivision having a right thereto in his/her official capacity. Local Tax Credit employees should consult with the central office
coordinators before providing any persons outside of the Department with even potentially confidential information.
The Governor of Maryland also has promulgated an Executive Order granting every applicant the statutory right to inspect his/her filed
application and to file a written request to correct or amend any information believed to be inaccurate or incomplete. The Department in
turn has the right to require an applicant to make an appointment to inspect his or her application in order to insure that the appropriate
Tax Credit employee or supervisory level employee is present to answer any questions raised. Local Tax Credit employees are further advised
to request sufficient identification of any person requesting to see his/her application, preferably in the form of a photo-I.D. Maryland
driver's license. Finally, an office form (HTC-16) is provided to local employees for having applicants sign an authorization on the date
of the inspection and also to have the employee list the type of identification provided by the applicant.
|