PRINTER'S NO. 1582
No. 1399 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY DAWIDA, WAMBACH, J. L. WRIGHT, CALTAGIRONE,
BELFANTI, HORGOS, SEVENTY, PRATT, TRELLO, BLAUM, TELEK AND
HALUSKA, MAY 11, 1981
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MAY 11, 1981
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 22, 1933 (P.L.853, No.155), entitled "An
2 act relating to taxation; designating the subjects, property
3 and persons subject to and exempt from taxation for all local
4 purposes; providing for and regulating the assessment and
5 valuation of persons, property and subjects of taxation for
6 county purposes, and for the use of those municipal and
7 quasi-municipal corporations which levy their taxes on county
8 assessments and valuations; amending, revising and
9 consolidating the law relating thereto; and repealing
10 existing laws," excluding from assessment for real property
11 tax purposes certain fire safety devices and systems.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 201, act of May 22,
15 1933 (P.L.853, No.155), known as "The General County Assessment
16 Law," amended December 14, 1977 (P.L.276, No.90), is amended to
17 read:
18 Section 201. Subjects of Taxation Enumerated.--The following
19 subjects and property shall, as hereinafter provided, be valued
20 and assessed, and subject to taxation for all county, city,
21 borough, town, township, school and poor purposes at the annual
22 rate:
1 (a) All real estate, to wit: Houses, house trailers and
2 mobilehomes buildings permanently attached to land or connected
3 with water, gas, electric or sewage facilities, buildings,
4 lands, lots of ground and ground rents, trailer parks and
5 parking lots, mills and manufactories of all kinds, furnaces,
6 forges, bloomeries, distilleries, sugar houses, malt houses,
7 breweries, tan yards, fisheries, and ferries, wharves, all
8 office type construction of whatever kind, that portion of a
9 steel, lead, aluminum or like melting and continuous casting
10 structures which enclose, provide shelter or protection from the
11 elements for the various machinery, tools, appliances,
12 equipment, materials or products involved in the mill, mine,
13 manufactory or industrial process, and all other real estate not
14 exempt by law from taxation. Machinery, tools, appliances and
15 other equipment contained in any mill, mine, manufactory or
16 industrial establishment shall not be considered or included as
17 a part of the real estate in determining the value of such mill,
18 mine, manufactory or industrial establishment. No office type
19 construction of whatever kind shall be excluded from taxation
20 but shall be considered a part of real property subject to
21 taxation. That portion of a steel, lead, aluminum or like
22 melting and continuous casting structure which encloses,
23 provides shelter or protection from the elements for the various
24 machinery, tools, appliances, equipment, materials or products
25 involved in the mill, mine, manufactory or industrial process
26 shall be considered as part of real property subject to
27 taxation. No silo used predominantly for processing or storage
28 of animal feed incidental to operation of the farm on which the
29 silo is located shall be included in determining the value of
30 real estate used predominantly as a farm: Provided, That for the
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1 tax or fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of
2 January, one thousand nine hundred fifty-eight, eighty per
3 centum of the assessed value of any such machinery, tools,
4 appliances and other equipment located in counties of the second
5 class as well as in all cities of the third class, boroughs,
6 townships, school districts of the second, third and fourth
7 class, and institutional districts in counties of the second
8 class, shall be considered and included in determining the value
9 of such mill, mine, manufactory or industrial establishment:
10 Provided further, That for the tax or fiscal year beginning on
11 or after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
12 fifty-nine, sixty per centum of the assessed value of any such
13 machinery, tools, appliances and other equipment located in said
14 political subdivisions, shall be considered and included in
15 determining the value of such mill, mine, manufactory or
16 industrial establishment: Provided further, That for the tax or
17 fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of January, one
18 thousand nine hundred sixty, forty per centum of the assessed
19 value of any such machinery, tools, appliances and other
20 equipment located in said political subdivisions, shall be
21 considered and included in determining the value of such mill,
22 mine, manufactory or industrial establishment: Provided further,
23 That for the tax or fiscal year beginning on or after the first
24 day of January, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, twenty per
25 centum of the assessed value of any such machinery, tools,
26 appliances and other equipment located in said political
27 subdivisions, shall be considered and included in determining
28 the value of such mill, mine, manufactory or industrial
29 establishment: Provided further, That for the tax or fiscal
30 years beginning on or after the first day of January, one
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1 thousand nine hundred sixty-two, no portion of the value of any
2 such machinery, tools, appliances and other equipment regardless
3 of where located, shall be considered and included in
4 determining the value of such mill, mine, manufactory or
5 industrial establishment: Provided further, That nothing
6 contained in this section of this act shall be construed as an
7 intent to provide for the valuing and assessing and subjecting
8 to taxation for purposes of any city of the second class or any
9 school district of the first class A any such machinery, tools,
10 appliances and other equipment: And provided further, That such
11 exclusion of silos used predominantly for processing or storage
12 of animal feed incidental to operation of the farm on which the
13 silo is located shall be included in determining the value of
14 real estate used predominantly as a farm shall become effective
15 for taxes to be levied for the tax or fiscal year beginning on
16 or after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
17 seventy-four. No structure, building or house shall be assessed
18 for real estate taxation purposes upon that portion of the
19 premises or any improvement thereto which constitute fire safety
20 devices or systems that have been approved and listed by a
21 nationally recognized testing laboratory and where the system
22 conforms to industry design standards that are recognized by the
23 Department of Labor and Industry.
24 * * *
25 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days and shall
26 apply to all fire safety devices or systems installed
27 thereafter.
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