PHILADELPHIA NEWS AND EVENTS

This Pennsylvania property tax case which is in the hands of Pennsylvania justices today could have a profound impact on all of us.  The commonwealth’s Pennsylvania property tax system raises more than $14 billion a year for education and local government purposes

Allegheny County Judge, Stanton Wettick Jr., ruled in  June 2007 that such a sytem guarantees unfairness and also can punish owners of lower-valued properties, something the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about in June.

Michael H. Wojcik, an Allegheny County Solicitor asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to hear the case and hopefully reverse the ruling made back in June 2007.

Wettick said the basic flaw in the Pennsylvania property tax system was that property tax will stay the same while the value of our homes, atleast as of recent has been on the decline.  What this in turn does give a tax break for owners of more pricer expensive properties in higher end neighborhoods, while causing lower property value to pay more in taxes relatively.

“That actually happens the day after your assessment starts,” William Moon said.  He is the Delaware County assessment manager, who acknowledged the system had problems and did need fixing.

Every Pennsylvania counties use what they call a “base year” program that many say is very unique.  It came into law in 1982.  It says that counties must assess the property value at once and then those values are frozen in time.  The problem many believe is that if that value is frozen, and the property value of their actual house and land goes down in the market, they are losing money and paying too much in taxes.

For example, Montgomery County last did a reevaluation of its real estate back in 1996.  This meant that any neighborhoods that were appreciating would benefit from this frozen in time reevaluation of the Pennsylvania Property Tax, and neighborhoods that were stable or dropping, would be negatively effected.

For instance: Effective tax rates - annual tax bills expressed as percentages of market values - are 25 percent higher, on average, in Norristown than in more affluent West Norriton, although both towns are in the same school district.

Delaware County’s William Moon had said the state officials need to take action in this regard no matter what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules on this matter of PA property tax.

Tags | pa property tax, Supreme Court, Tax