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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 7, 2013 12:00 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Maria P. Donatucci |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Co-sponsorship of Legislation - Anti-Windfall Provision for Cities/Counties of the First Class |
| I plan to introduce legislation to establish an anti-windfall provision for cities and counties of the first class after a city-wide or county-wide reassessment. The legislation would limit tax increases in a city or county of the first class (Philadelphia) in the year after implementation of a reassessment in which properties are revalued and an established predetermined ratio is applied or the assessment base is changed thru the application of a different predetermined ratio. The legislation is modeled after similar provisions contained in state statute and applicable to all other counties and most taxing jurisdictions throughout the Commonwealth. Under my bill, a taxing body levying its real estate taxes on the revised assessment figures for the first time would be required to reduce its tax rate, if necessary, so that the total amount of taxes levied for that year does not exceed the total amount it levied on all properties in the year preceding the reassessment. Subsequently, the taxing body may, by a separate and specific vote, establish a final tax rate for the year in which the reassessment is implemented at a figure which limits the total amount of taxes levied for the year to no more than 10% greater than the total amount it levied in the year preceding the implementation of the reassessment. A taxing district may, with court approval and upon good cause shown, increase the tax rate beyond the 10% limitation provided under the bill. This legislation is necessary in that Philadelphia is in the process of implementing a new property assessment system based on market values known as the Actual Value Initiative, and as such, a complete county-wide revaluation of all properties is ongoing. |
Introduced as HB886