PRINTER'S NO. 3797
No. 2553 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY REICHLEY, ALLEN, ARMSTRONG, CALTAGIRONE, CRAHALLA,
CREIGHTON, DALLY, DeWEESE, DIVEN, FAIRCHILD, GEORGE,
GINGRICH, GOODMAN, HARRIS, HERSHEY, MACKERETH, MUSTIO,
PETRONE, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SONNEY, STABACK, E. Z. TAYLOR,
J. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE, WILT, YUDICHAK, ZUG, HARPER,
BENNINGHOFF AND TURZAI, APRIL 3, 2006
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, APRIL 3, 2006
AN ACT
1 Providing for local senior citizen property tax rent rebates.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 Section 1. Short title.
5 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Local Senior
6 Citizen Property and Rent Rebate Act.
7 Section 2. Definitions.
8 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
9 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
10 context clearly indicates otherwise:
11 "Claimant." Any of the following who, during all or part of
12 a calendar year in which real property taxes, rent and inflation
13 costs were due and payable, file a claim for property tax rebate
14 or rent rebate in lieu of property taxes and inflation dividend:
15 (1) A person who was 65 years of age or older, or whose
1 spouse, if a member of the household, was 65 years of age or
2 older.
3 (2) A widow or widower who was 50 years of age or older.
4 (3) A permanently disabled person 18 years of age or
5 older.
6 "Department." The Department of Revenue of the Commonwealth.
7 "Homestead." A dwelling occupied by a claimant, whether
8 owned or rented, and as much of the land surrounding it as is
9 reasonably necessary for use of the dwelling as a home. The term
10 shall also include all of the following:
11 (1) Premises occupied by reason of ownership or lease in
12 a cooperative housing corporation.
13 (2) Mobile homes which are assessed as realty for local
14 property tax purposes and the land, if owned or rented by the
15 claimant, upon which the mobile home is situated and other
16 similar living accommodations.
17 (3) A part of a multidwelling or multipurpose building
18 and a part of the land upon which it is built.
19 (4) Premises occupied by reason of the claimant's
20 ownership or rental of a dwelling located on land owned by a
21 nonprofit incorporated association, of which the claimant is
22 a member, if the claimant is required to pay a pro rata share
23 of the property taxes levied against the association's land.
24 (5) Premises occupied by a claimant if he is required by
25 law to pay a property tax by reason of his ownership or
26 rental, including a possessory interest, in the dwelling, the
27 land or both.
28 "Household income." All income received by the claimant and
29 his spouse while residing in the homestead during the calendar
30 year for which a rebate and dividend are claimed.
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1 "Income." Except for surplus food or other relief in kind
2 supplied by a governmental agency or property tax, rent rebate
3 or inflation dividend, all income from whatever source derived,
4 including all of the following:
5 (1) Salaries, wages, bonuses and commissions.
6 (2) Income from self-employment.
7 (3) Alimony, support money, cash public assistance and
8 relief.
9 (4) The gross amount of any pensions or annuities,
10 including 50% of railroad retirement benefits.
11 (5) Fifty percent of all benefits, except Medicare
12 benefits, received under the Social Security Act (49 Stat.
13 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.).
14 (6) All benefits received under State unemployment
15 insurance laws and veterans' disability payments.
16 (7) All interest received from the Federal or any state
17 government, or any instrumentality or political subdivision
18 thereof.
19 (8) Realized capital gains.
20 (9) Rentals.
21 (10) Workers' compensation and the gross amount of loss
22 of time, insurance benefits, life insurance benefits and
23 proceeds except the first $5,000 of the total of death
24 benefit payments.
25 (11) Gifts of cash or property, other than transfers by
26 gift between members of a household, in excess of a total
27 value of $300.
28 "Local taxing authority." A political subdivision of the
29 Commonwealth which shall include a municipality, township,
30 county or school district.
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1 "Owner." A person in possession under a contract of sale,
2 deed of trust, life estate, joint tenancy or tenancy in common
3 or by reason of statutes of descent and distribution.
4 "Permanently disabled person." A person who is unable to
5 engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any
6 medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can
7 be expected to continue indefinitely.
8 "Real property taxes." All taxes on a homestead, except for
9 municipal assessments, delinquent charges and interest, due and
10 payable during a calendar year.
11 "Rent rebate in lieu of property taxes." Twenty percent of
12 the gross amount actually paid in cash or its equivalent in any
13 calendar year to a landlord in connection with the occupancy of
14 a homestead by a claimant, irrespective of whether the amount
15 constitutes payment solely for the right of occupancy or
16 otherwise.
17 "Social Security Act." The Social Security Act (49 Stat.
18 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.).
19 "Widow" or "widower." The surviving wife or the surviving
20 husband of a deceased individual who has not remarried.
21 Section 3. Property tax and rent rebate.
22 (a) Schedule.--The amount of any claim for property tax
23 rebate or rent rebate in lieu of property taxes for real
24 property taxes or rent due and payable during calendar year 2006
25 and thereafter shall be determined in accordance with the
26 following schedule:
27 Percentage of Real Property Taxes or
28 Rent Rebate in Lieu of
29 Household Income Property Taxes Allowed as Rebate
30 $0 - $4,999 100%
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1 5,000 - 5,499 100
2 5,500 - 5,999 90
3 6,000 - 6,499 80
4 6,500 - 6,999 70
5 7,000 - 7,499 60
6 7,500 - 7,999 50
7 8,000 - 8,499 40
8 8,500 - 8,999 35
9 9,000 - 9,999 25
10 10,000 - 11,999 20
11 12,000 - 12,999 15
12 13,000 - 15,000 10
13 (b) Limits.--No claim shall be allowed if the amount of
14 property tax or rent rebate computed in accordance with this
15 section is less than $10. The maximum amount of property tax or
16 rent rebate payable under this section shall not exceed $500.
17 (c) Exemption.--No claim shall be allowed if the claimant is
18 a tenant of an owner of real property exempt from real property
19 taxes.
20 (d) Apportionment.--A local taxing authority shall apportion
21 the real property taxes or rent in accordance with the period or
22 degree of ownership or leasehold or eligibility of the claimant
23 in determining the amount of rebate for which a claimant is
24 eligible if any of the following apply:
25 (1) A homestead is owned or rented and occupied for only
26 a portion of a year.
27 (2) A homestead is owned or rented in part by a person
28 who does not meet the qualifications for a claimant,
29 exclusive of any interest owned or leased by a claimant's
30 spouse.
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1 (3) A claimant is a widow or widower who remarries.
2 (4) A claimant is a permanently disabled person who is
3 no longer disabled.
4 (e) Public assistance.--A claimant who receives public
5 assistance from the Department of Public Welfare shall not be
6 eligible for rent rebate in lieu of property taxes or an
7 inflation dividend during those months during which the claimant
8 receives public assistance.
9 (f) Rent.--Rent shall not include subsidies provided by or
10 through a governmental agency.
11 Section 4. Filing of claim.
12 A claim for property tax or rent rebate shall be filed with
13 the local taxing authority on a date prescribed by the local
14 taxing authority for the preceding calendar year in which real
15 property taxes or rent were due and payable. Only one claimant
16 from a homestead each year shall be entitled to the property tax
17 or rent rebate and inflation dividend. If two or more persons
18 are able to meet the qualifications for a claimant, they may
19 determine who the claimant shall be. If they are unable to
20 agree, the department shall determine to whom the rebate is to
21 be paid.
22 Section 5. Proof of claim.
23 (a) Inclusion with claim.--Each claim shall include
24 reasonable proof of household income, the size and nature of the
25 property claimed as a homestead and the rent or tax receipt or
26 other proof that the real property taxes on the homestead have
27 been paid, or rent in connection with the occupancy of a
28 homestead has been paid. If the claimant is a widow or widower,
29 a declaration of such status in such manner as prescribed by the
30 Secretary of Revenue shall be included.
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1 (b) Social Security determination.--Proof that a claimant is
2 eligible to receive disability benefits under the Social
3 Security Act shall constitute proof of disability under this
4 act. No person who has been found not to be disabled by the
5 Social Security Administration shall be granted a rebate or
6 dividend under this act. A claimant not covered under the Social
7 Security Act shall be examined by a physician designated by the
8 local taxing authority and such status determined using the same
9 standards used by the Social Security Administration.
10 (c) Time of payment.--It shall not be necessary that taxes
11 or rent were paid directly by the claimant if the rent or taxes
12 have been paid when the claim is filed.
13 (d) Age.--The first claim filed shall include proof that the
14 claimant or the claimant's spouse was 65 years of age or older
15 or 50 years of age or older in the case of a widow or widower,
16 during the calendar year in which real property taxes or rent
17 were due and payable.
18 Section 6. Incorrect claim.
19 Whenever on audit of any claim the local taxing authority
20 finds the claim to have been incorrectly determined, it shall
21 redetermine the correct amount of the claim and notify the
22 claimant of the reason of the redetermination and the amount of
23 the corrected claim.
24 Section 7. Funds for payment of claims.
25 Approved claims shall be paid from the local taxing
26 authority's general fund.
27 Section 8. Petition for redetermination.
28 Any claimant whose claim is either denied, corrected or
29 otherwise adversely affected by the local taxing authority may
30 file with the local taxing authority a petition for
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1 redetermination on forms supplied by the local taxing authority
2 within 90 days after the date of mailing of written notice by
3 the local taxing authority of the action. It shall be the duty
4 of the local taxing authority, within six months after receiving
5 a filed petition for redetermination, to dispose of the matters
6 raised by the petition and mail notice of the local taxing
7 authority's decision to the claimant.
8 Section 19. Applicability.
9 This act shall apply to the tax year beginning January 1,
10 2006, and each tax year thereafter.
11 Section 20. Effective date.
12 This act shall take effect immediately.
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