Maryland’s Democratic Senate candidate improperly claimed property tax credits

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — The Democratic candidate for Maryland Senate has improperly claimed property tax credits for two homes, her campaign says she was unaware of it and plans to pay it back.

Angela Ookbrookswho is the county executive of Prince George’s County, claimed homestead and senior property tax credits for a home in Washington, D.C., and homestead credits for another home in Prince George’s County, according to a story first reported by CNN. Her campaign confirmed the credits on Monday.

Alsobrooks owns two homes in Prince George’s. She received a homestead exemption for the first home in May 2008. A homestead tax credit is for homes that are an owner’s primary residence. When Alsobrooks moved to a new home and began renting the Upper Marlboro townhome, she did not transfer the homestead tax credit to her new home.

“This did not provide Angela with any financial benefit,” said Connor Lounsbury, a senior adviser to her campaign. “She actually ended up paying more in taxes than she could have with the tax deduction. Despite this, Angela is working to repay all of the tax deductions she received on the old property.”

Alsobrooks also owned a home in Washington after taking over the mortgage when her grandmother moved out in 2005.

“Many Maryland residents know the difficulty and complexity of having a family member leave their home,” Lounsbury said. “When this situation happened to Angela’s grandmother, Angela took it over for her family and paid the mortgage until the property was sold in 2018. She was unaware of any tax benefits associated with the property and contacted the District of Columbia to resolve the issue and make the necessary payments.”

Alsobrooks is running in an unusually competitive Senate race in Maryland against Republicans former governor Larry HoganThe race could determine control of the Senate.

Hogan’s campaign criticized Alsobrooks for the tax breaks.

“She claims she is ignorant of the tax laws she was tasked with enforcing,” said Hogan campaign spokesman Blake Kernen. “Governor Hogan has always stood up for taxpayers, and in the Senate he will continue to fight for fairness and fiscal responsibility.”