THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY ARGALL, ORIE, FONTANA, M. WHITE, ALLOWAY, MENSCH, FOLMER, YUDICHAK, WAUGH AND FERLO, OCTOBER 26, 2011

SENATOR CORMAN, APPROPRIATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED, JUNE 18, 2012   

AN ACT

Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in consolidated county assessment, 

further providing for appeals by taxing authorities.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 8855 of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 8855.  Appeals by taxing districts.

[A] (a)  General rule.--Subject to the provisions of

subsection (b), a taxing district shall have the right to appeal

any assessment within its jurisdiction in the same manner,

subject to the same procedure and with like effect as if the

appeal were taken by a taxable person with respect to the

assessment, and, in addition, may take an appeal from any

decision of the board or court of common pleas as though it had

been a party to the proceedings before the board or court even

though it was not a party in fact. A taxing district authority

may intervene in any appeal by a taxable person under section

8854 (relating to appeals to court) as a matter of right.

(b)  Basis of appeals.--

(1)  A taxing district may not appeal the assessment of

property based on the sale of the property, unless the

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aggregate additional revenue to be collected by the taxing

districts pursuant to an appeal is $10,000 or more in at

least one of the years under appeal.

(2)  In the event that a taxing authority has appealed an

assessment in violation of paragraph (1) at any time after

the last countywide reassessment, the affected taxable person

shall have the right to appeal and to have the assessed value

changed back to the base-year assessed value assigned

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immediately prior to the appeal as per county records. The

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change shall be made by the county assessment bureau.

(3)  The following shall apply:

(i)  Appeals under paragraph (2) must be filed by

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September 1, 2012. Appeals under paragraph (2) must be

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filed between June 1, 2013, and September 1, 2013, or the

annual appeal date selected by the county body pursuant

to section 8844(c)(3) (relating to notices, appeals and

certification of values) that occurs in 2013.

(ii)  An appeal under paragraph (2) shall be limited

to a current owner who is an affected taxable person and

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whose tax increase pursuant to the appeal in question is

not $10,000 or more in at least one of the years under

appeal. A successful appeal shall not entitle the current

owner to a refund of taxes paid in a prior year based on

an assessment in violation of paragraph (1).

(4)  A taxing district may appeal the assessment only if

one of the following factors applies:

(i)  The appeal is from an assessment established

during a countywide reassessment and the appeal is filed

not later than the first day of September, or the annual

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appeal date selected by the county commissioners pursuant

to section 8844(c)(3), of the taxable year following the

year for which the newly established values from the

countywide reassessment shall take effect.

(ii)  The property or parcel has been divided and

conveyed in smaller parcels.

(iii)  Improvements have been made to real property.

(iv)  Existing improvements have been removed from

real property or have been destroyed.

(v)  A change has occurred in the productive use of

the property or parcel by material alteration in the

nature of the use or through alteration or additions

which modify the use.

(vi)  The property or parcel that has been granted a

preferential assessment under the act of December 19,

1974 (P.L.973, No.319), known as the Pennsylvania

Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974, or other

tax discount or relief program authorized by law.

(vii)  The aggregate additional revenue to be

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collected by the appealing taxing district is at least

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$10,000 per year. taxing districts pursuant to an appeal

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is $10,000 or more in at least one of the years under

appeal. This provision including the stipulated amount of

the annual tax increase shall be referred to as the

minimum additional revenue.

(5)  The following apply to assessment changes:

(i)  Any assessment change based on paragraph (4)(i),

(ii), (iii), (iv) or (v) that occurs after the most 

recent countywide assessment, but prior to the date of an

appeal by a taxing district based on the sale of the

property, shall remain in place and shall be expressed in

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base-year values unless the minimum additional revenue

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applies pursuant to such appeal by the taxing district.

(ii)  Any assessment change based on paragraph

(4)(vi) that occurs after the most recent countywide

assessment and after the date of an appeal by a taxing

district shall be reapplied to the corrected assessed

value and shall be expressed in base-year values unless

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the minimum additional revenue applies pursuant to such

appeal by the taxing district.

(6)  A property's fair market value, assessed value and

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assessment changes shall be expressed in dollar amounts that

reflect what the values would be in the base year. In the

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event that the minimum additional revenue applies pursuant to

such appeal by the taxing district, a property's fair market

value shall be expressed in dollar amounts that reflect the

tax year in question. The assessed value and assessment

changes shall be determined by application of the common

level ratio to the fair market value. The applicable common

level ratio shall be that which is prevailing as of the tax

year in question.

(7)  The threshold amount of $10,000 for the minimum

additional revenue specified in paragraph (4) shall be

subject to an annual inflation adjustment beginning January

1, 2014, and continuing on January 1 of each successive year

thereafter. The adjustment factor shall be based on the

change from the prior year in the CPI-U All Urban Consumers

United States City Average Annual Average Index for which the

base period of 1982-1984=100.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect June 1, 2012, or

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immediately, whichever is later immediately.

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