Baltimore Nonprofits Fail To Pay Their “Fair Share” Of City Services
Last night the City Council ripped off one of the biggest scabs on Baltimore’s body politic – the fact that large nonprofit institutions pay no property taxes.
At an informational hearing, the Council heard from advocacy groups who denounced a 2016 agreement with anchor hospitals and universities in which they agreed to pay a total of $6 million a year for their use of city services.
Critics have called the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, a “backroom deal” passed by the Board of Estimates to allow the nonprofits to grossly underpay their fair share of taxes through June 2026.
Negotiated by former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the deal was approved by Baltimore’s current mayor, Bernard C. “Jack” Young, when he was City Council president.