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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | November 24, 2015 05:23 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Mario M. Scavello |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution Further Providing for Homestead Exclusion |
| Leading up to our most recent vote on property tax elimination, there were concerns expressed by my fellow colleagues in the Senate about providing full property tax relief to commercial businesses as opposed to just residential properties. Therefore, given these concerns and ultimately the Senate’s failure to pass House Bill 683 as amended on the Senate floor last evening (November 23, 2015), I plan to introduce legislation providing for a Constitutional Amendment to provide for more significant property tax reductions statewide. Specifically, aside from what is already allowed through the homestead exclusion, the delivery of additional property tax relief requires modifications to the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Uniformity Clause. Currently, the Pennsylvania Constitution allows local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 50% of the median assessed value of homestead property within the taxing district. “Median assessed value” is the middle value of all the homesteads in a taxing district when you put them in numerical order. For example, if you have three properties: one property worth $100,000, another property worth $200,000 and the last property is worth $150,000-- when you place these values in numerical order, the “median assessed value” would be $150,000. While this is the current mechanism to provide residential property tax relief, it is inadequate because it caps the amount of relief that can be provided. Consequently, this legislation will amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 100% of the assessed value of the homestead property receiving the exclusion. This provision if adopted, will improve upon an already established property tax relief mechanism by allowing for the elimination of residential school property taxes via the homestead exclusion. This amendment to the Constitution is necessary so that together we can further address the property tax structure that has afflicted us with years of escalating home foreclosures and rising tax bills across the Commonwealth. As has been said before, no tax should leave you homeless. Furthermore, no citizen should be forced to choose between paying for food, medicine, or their school property tax bill. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please contact Christine Zubeck in my office at 717-787-6123 or czubeck@pasen.gov. Thank you for your consideration. |