PRINTER'S NO. 849
No. 762 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY CALTAGIRONE, RICHARDSON, GEIST, MORRIS, WOZNIAK,
DALEY, ANGSTADT, FREEMAN AND LEHR, APRIL 13, 1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, APRIL 13, 1983
AN ACT
1 Providing for the levy of a municipal service charge on tax-
2 exempt property for the benefit of certain municipalities;
3 and providing procedures for determining eligibility for tax-
4 exempt status.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Municipal
9 Service Charge Act.
10 Section 2. Legislative findings.
11 The General Assembly hereby finds and declares the following:
12 (1) Tax-exempt property is one of the most important
13 problems facing local governments because while tax-exempt
14 properties pay no taxes, they do utilize certain local
15 government services.
16 (2) As a result of property tax exemptions, local
17 governments' property tax bases have been eroded.
18 (3) In recent years several states have:
1 (i) Instituted procedures for periodic assessments
2 or periodic reapplication for property tax exemptions.
3 (ii) Annually reevaluated tax-exempt property.
4 (4) Recordkeeping for exempt properties is generally of
5 a poor quality and as a result there is little knowledge of
6 the extent or location of tax-exempt property in the
7 Commonwealth.
8 (5) There is much concern with tax exemptions in the
9 Commonwealth's municipalities and it has been estimated that
10 the average value of exempt property is over $240,000,000 for
11 each county in this Commonwealth.
12 (6) Several states provide for the levy of a municipal
13 service charge upon tax-exempt properties by their
14 municipalities.
15 Section 3. Definitions.
16 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
17 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
18 context clearly indicates otherwise:
19 "Assessed value." The current assessed value of real
20 property as certified by the chief assessor of the county.
21 "Board." The county commissioners, board of revision of
22 taxes or board for the assessment and revision of taxes.
23 "Chief assessor." The chief assessor of each county.
24 "Department." The Department of Community Affairs.
25 "Local tax collector." The appropriate municipal officer
26 authorized to collect real property taxes.
27 "Municipal service charge." The charge authorized by this
28 act to be imposed by municipalities on otherwise tax-exempt
29 property within their jurisdiction.
30 "Municipal services." Services provided by municipalities
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1 which are funded in whole or in part by real estate taxes and
2 for which special fees, charges or assessments are not made to
3 recover the costs of providing such services.
4 "Municipality." Any city, borough, incorporated town,
5 township or home rule or optional plan form of government
6 adopted by a city, borough, incorporated town or township.
7 "Person." Any individual, firm, partnership, association,
8 company, corporation, organization or any other group.
9 "Tax-exempt property." Real property exempted by the
10 applicable assessment laws from the payment of real property
11 taxes on all or a part of a parcel of real estate. As used in
12 this act for the purposes of subjecting real property to a
13 municipal service charge, the term shall not include real
14 property owned by the United States Government, its
15 instrumentalities and agencies or by the Commonwealth and its
16 political subdivisions and their instrumentalities and agencies.
17 "Tax liability." The amount of taxes on tax-exempt property
18 that would be due and owing a municipality if the property were
19 not tax exempt.
20 Section 4. Municipal service charge levied.
21 A municipal service charge in an amount determined pursuant
22 to section 5 is hereby levied on the assessed value of all tax-
23 exempt property in this Commonwealth. The municipal service
24 charge shall be payable to the municipality or municipalities in
25 which the real property is located and shall be credited to the
26 municipality's general fund. Revenues from the municipal service
27 charge shall be used by the municipality to offset its expenses
28 in providing municipal services.
29 Section 5. Computation of municipal service charge.
30 The municipal service charge imposed by section 4 shall be
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1 levied annually by the governing body of the municipality at a
2 rate not in excess of 25% of the tax liability of the assessed
3 property if it were taxable.
4 Section 6. Collection.
5 The municipal service charge levied by this act shall be
6 collected by the local tax collector at the same time and in the
7 same manner as are municipal real property taxes. Any person
8 failing to pay the municipal service charge imposed by this act
9 shall be subject to all the same statutory interest, penalties,
10 liens and other remedies which are imposed by or available to
11 municipalities for the nonpayment of municipal real property
12 taxes.
13 Section 7. Assessment of tax-exempt property.
14 All tax-exempt property shall be annually assessed in the
15 same manner as is taxable property in the various counties of
16 the Commonwealth. The chief assessor shall prepare and submit to
17 the appropriate board an assessment roll of tax-exempt property,
18 together with the value placed on each parcel or tract of real
19 property.
20 Section 8. Applications for tax-exempt status.
21 Any person who believes their real property to be exempt from
22 taxation under the applicable assessment law shall make
23 application to the chief assessor of the county wherein the
24 property is located for tax-exempt status for the ensuing year.
25 The department shall prescribe and provide the necessary forms
26 to the chief assessor. Such applications shall be filed with the
27 chief assessor not later than 45 days prior to the date on which
28 the chief assessor is required to submit the assessment roll of
29 assessed property to the board. Upon receipt of the application,
30 the chief assessor shall make a determination as to whether or
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1 not the property in question is tax exempt under the applicable
2 assessment law. The chief assessor shall submit a list of all
3 tax-exempt property to the board at the same time as the
4 assessor submits the roll of assessed property.
5 Section 9. Revisions and notice.
6 Upon receipt of the roll of tax-exempt property and the
7 assessed value of such property, the board shall review the same
8 and may revise the assessed values assigned and may examine the
9 chief assessor's determination as to the tax-exempt status of
10 any real property. Upon the conclusion of its review, the board
11 shall send written notice of its determination to the owners of
12 each parcel or tract of real property for which tax exemption
13 was applied for.
14 Section 10. Appeal.
15 Any person aggrieved by either the assessment or the boards
16 determination as to the tax-exempt status of any real property
17 shall have the same right to appeal as any person aggrieved by
18 the board's decision as to any taxable property under the
19 applicable assessment law.
20 Section 11. Tax-exempt certificate.
21 Any real property determined to be tax exempt shall have a
22 tax-exempt certificate issued to the owner of such property
23 identifying and certifying it as tax exempt under this act. Such
24 certificate shall be valid only for the tax year for which it is
25 issued and only for so long as the ownership or use of property
26 upon which the exemption was conditioned is not changed. The
27 department shall prescribe and provide forms for the tax-exempt
28 certificates. No property shall be exempt from the municipal
29 service charge unless a tax-exempt certificate has been issued
30 for such property.
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1 Section 12. Department duties.
2 The Department of Community Affairs may promulgate such
3 regulations as may be necessary for the implementation and
4 administration of this act. The department shall keep a record
5 of all tax-exempt property in this Commonwealth together with a
6 record of its assessed value. The chief assessor of each county
7 shall annually supply this information to the department.
8 Section 13. Failure of chief assessor to perform.
9 Any chief assessor who knowingly and intentionally omits,
10 neglects or refuses to secure any information or data necessary
11 for the implementation of the municipal service charge, commits
12 a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall be removed from
13 office.
14 Section 14. Penalties for false statements.
15 Any person who willfully and knowingly, makes or attests to a
16 false statement orally or in writing, for the purpose of
17 obtaining or attempting to obtain, or to assist any other person
18 to obtain or attempt to obtain an assessment reduction or tax
19 exemption under this act, commits a misdemeanor of the third
20 degree.
21 Section 15. Effective date.
22 (a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
23 this act shall take effect January 1, 1985.
24 (b) Exception.--Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14
25 shall take effect January 1, 1984.
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