Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 4, 2023 03:29 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Robert Freeman |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Tax Exempt Properties |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would provide a dedicated state funding source to municipalities that have 15% or more of its overall assessed property value as tax-exempt properties within their municipal borders. Municipalities across Pennsylvania with a large amount of tax-exempt properties, such as institutions of higher education, nonprofit medical facilities, government property, and state game lands, are faced with the challenge of providing residents essential services without the real estate tax base of other communities. My legislation would provide annual financial assistance to those affected municipalities, giving them the ability to provide the essential services that ensure the health and safety of their residents and can put their community in a more stable financial position to attract economic development This legislation would establish the Tax Exempt Property Municipal Assistance Fund using the revenue generated from the 18% Liquor Tax, levied on all wine and spirits sold in Pennsylvania, to provide funding to municipalities with high levels of tax exempt properties. Municipalities with high levels of tax-exempt properties are facing difficult fiscal decisions. A shrinking tax base makes it difficult for some to provide the basic services expected from local government. By providing annual funding to these municipalities, we can stabilize their fiscal situation and enable them to maintain essential basic services to ensure the health and safety of their citizens. The liquor tax helped to rebuild Johnstown after it was devastated by a flood in 1936. It is time to target that money to municipalities that are falling further into financial distress simply because they have significant amounts of tax-exempt properties within their boundaries. This legislation can help hundreds of communities across our commonwealth, including those municipalities that are under the Act 47 Financially Distressed Municipalities program, college towns, county seats, and municipalities that host nonprofit hospitals as they have a high percentage of tax-exempt property. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB451