§ 52-98. Property tax credit - fire sprinkler systems.

(a) A taxpayer may receive a one-time property tax credit against the general county tax for any residential building in which a fire sprinkler system was not legally required to be installed, if an approved fire sprinkler system is installed on or after July 1, 2000.

(b) For each residential building where a sprinkler system is installed, the credit must not exceed the lower of:

(1) the total cost of installing the sprinkler system; or

(2) 50 percent of the general county property tax attributable to the residential building.

(c) The Department of Finance must administer this credit and include with each residential property tax bill a notice of the availability of the credit and where to obtain more information.

(d) A taxpayer must apply for the tax credit in the year the sprinkler system is installed to receive the credit in that tax year or the next tax year. The taxpayer must:

(1) show that the installed sprinkler system complies with codes and standards established by the State Fire Prevention Commission and any applicable County building and fire safety codes, and

(2) document the cost to the taxpayer of the sprinkler system.

(e) The County Executive may adopt regulations under method (2) to implement this Section.

(f) The Executive must report annually to the County Council on the use of this tax credit. (; , § 11; , §§ 11, 15 and 16; , § 1; , § 2.)

Editor’s note—The effective date of the amendments made to this section by , § 11, is the same effective date as 2000 L.M.C., ch. 15.