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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 22, 2023 01:20 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Joe Ciresi and Rep. Jim Haddock |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Expanding Property Tax and Rent Relief in Pennsylvania |
| With inflation still high, many Pennsylvania residents are struggling to afford basic necessities, including housing. Our Property Tax Rent Rebate program (PTRR) is supposed to provide relief to certain financially vulnerable individuals, including seniors. However, increasing numbers of individuals trying to access the program find themselves ineligible as time goes by due to stagnant income limits. Next year alone, thousands of seniors will lose eligibility because of their Social Security cost-of-living adjustments pushing them above the eligibility threshold. Income requirements, rebate amounts, and other provisions of the PTRR program have not been updated in many years, and it is time we do so to ensure that our seniors can remain eligible, and that more individuals can seek assistance from this vital program. Pennsylvanians need our help, and it is time we deliver. That is why we are introducing legislation that will significantly expand the PTRR. First, our proposal would increase income limits for homeowners and renters to $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, recognizing the impact inflation has had since the last increase in 2008. In addition, the legislation would permanently reinstate a provision that would ensure individuals are not deemed ineligible for PTRR solely due to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security. Moreover, the legislation would allow individuals to deduct the face amount of property taxes paid when determining income for PTRR. Our legislation would also increase rebate amounts up to a new maximum of $800 and allow more homeowners to qualify for supplemental rebates by eliminating the $30,000 income cap. With these important steps, we would make more Pennsylvanians eligible for this important relief, give existing rebate recipients more support in these critical times, and make sure that more seniors don’t end up needlessly losing eligibility for this program in the future. The Property Tax/Rent Rebate program is a great resource to many of our constituents, but it’s in need of an update to make sure no one is getting left behind. We hope you will join us in supporting this important legislation to increase accessibility to property tax relief for so many individuals in need across Pennsylvania. Prior Co-Sponsors (HB 2721): CIRESI, T. DAVIS, MADDEN, KINSEY, KENYATTA, McNEILL, RABB, O'MARA, FIEDLER, DELLOSO, D. WILLIAMS, GUENST, NEILSON, SAPPEY, SANCHEZ, LONGIETTI, PARKER, ROZZI, MALAGARI, KIRKLAND, HILL-EVANS, WEBSTER, DEASY, WARREN, DALEY, BROOKS, STEPHENS and OTTEN |
Introduced as HB113