Close Menu
Invest Intellect
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Invest Intellect
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Home
    • Commodities
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Fintech
    • Investments
    • Precious Metal
    • Property
    • Stock Market
    Invest Intellect
    Home»Property»Pittsburgh hearing on property taxes puts focus on ‘broken’ system
    Property

    Pittsburgh hearing on property taxes puts focus on ‘broken’ system

    July 15, 20244 Mins Read


    Regular state-mandated property reassessments would provide school districts with more predictable revenue streams from property taxes and ensure all property owners pay no more than their fair share, experts and local officials said Monday.

    During a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing in the Allegheny County Courthouse, officials urged lawmakers to require all counties to reassess property values for tax purposes every three years.

    The hearing came amid a time of declining property tax revenue throughout the county. Successful assessment challenges have triggered steep declines in property values, most noticeably in Downtown Pittsburgh, but also in numerous suburbs.

    As well, the county is trying to fend off a pending lawsuit by Pittsburgh Public Schools trying to force a countywide reassessment in an effort to avert what it says is a fiscal crisis.

    Pennsylvania is the only state that does not require regular reassessments, leaving each county to decide on its own when to reassess properties.

    Allegheny County last conducted a reassessment in 2012.

    Other counties have gone far longer. Butler County hasn’t had a reassessment since 1969, and Westmoreland County’s last reassessment was in 1972, said Michael Suley, who sits on Allegheny County’s Board of Property Assessments and Appeals Review.

    “Today, Pennsylvania has become the poster child for how not to run a property reassessment system,” state Sen. Wayne Fontana said.

    Fontana joined fellow Sens. Katie Muth, Lindsey Williams and Jay Costa for a two-hour discussion of how to make the commonwealth’s tax system more fair and predictable for all involved.

    “The tax assessment system in this county and in Pennsylvania is broken,” said Pittsburgh Public Schools Solicitor Ira Weiss, explaining that the current system leads to people paying uneven and unfair amounts in property taxes, based on whether their specific property has been recently reassessed and whether they have the wherewithal to appeal unfair reassessments.

    Many people who purchase homes — especially new construction houses — face unexpected reassessments and tax hikes after buying them, while people who have lived in their homes for years may be less likely to be reassessed and pay more in taxes — even if their property values have skyrocketed, experts said.

    John Petrack, executive vice president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, cited an example in Ross of what he calls the “newcomer tax.”

    There were two houses side by side with the same square footage that were built in the same year. One sold in 2012 — the year of Allegheny County’s most recent reassessment — for $140,000. The other was assessed for the same amount in 2012, but faced a reassessment after it sold for $240,000 in 2021.

    Now, Petrack said, the person who bought the house in 2021 pays 40% more in property taxes than their neighbor.

    Homebuyers, he said, deserve a “consistent and equitable system.”

    “This is not a fair system,” said David Vatz, head of Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, a group dedicated to housing abundance and affordability. “Why should some people pay unfairly high taxes while others get to skate by with an assessment that’s too low?”

    Experts said that mandating regular assessments would ensure all property values are more accurate, and fluctuations from one reassessment to the next wouldn’t be too dramatic. They argued that this would be more fair for taxpayers, and it would help school districts and municipalities better predict how much tax revenue they can expect.

    “People don’t mind paying their fair share in taxes — as long as they know everyone else is,” Suley said.

    Recent reassessments that have seen property values dip have left some school districts and municipalities scrambling, local officials testified.

    Pittsburgh — which recently has seen several Downtown skyscrapers reassessed dramatically lower — counts on property taxes for about 22% of its general fund, City Controller Rachael Heisler said, and relies on that money “for our city to function.”

    About 60% of Mt. Lebanon School District’s budget comes from property taxes, Superintendent Melissa Friez said, making the record-setting $1.2 million in refunds it had to issue last school year particularly painful.

    The district, she said, has been forced to raise taxes, reduce staffing and revise programming “to be more cost-effective.”

    But a reassessment, she said, could create a more equitable and predictable system that would be fair for taxpayers and provide stability for schools and local governments.

    Reassessing on a property-by-property basis, experts said, is inefficient, unpredictable and unfair. Property owners don’t always have the resources to appeal unfair assessments, officials said, and that process also is costly and time-consuming.

    “You can’t appeal your way to fairness,” Williams said.

    Julia Burdelski is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jburdelski@triblive.com.



    Source link

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    Seef Properties et AWJ Real Estate s’associent pour un projet immobilier mixte en Arabie saoudite

    Property

    Árima Real Estate conclut un accord de 15 millions d’euros pour la vente d’un immeuble de bureaux en Espagne

    Property

    Ayrshire seaside town named cheapest in the UK for property

    Property

    Cho Lon Real Estate : Ratios de Valorisations, Prévisions des analystes

    Property

    Emperor’s US$2 billion debt woes reflect Hong Kong’s worsening property market risks

    Property

    Numa Group acquires first regional UK property

    Property
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Top Picks
    Commodities

    UAE promotes national agricultural sustainability initiatives at Bahrain International Garden Show 2025

    Commodities

    Or Tor Kor Elevates Thai Agricultural Products on the Global Stage with “IFEX Connect 2025” in Manila

    Commodities

    Courgeac : un projet agrivoltaïque présenté aux habitants

    Editors Picks

    PICC Property and Casualty’s prévoit une augmentation de 100 % de son bénéfice au premier trimestre

    April 14, 2025

    Cryptocurrency Scams: Identifying and Preventing Fraud

    June 25, 2025

    Silver Ridge annonce la démission de Lau Sit Fang de son poste de directeur financier adjoint

    May 30, 2025

    The First Real Pioneer Farmers

    October 15, 2024
    What's Hot

    iPhone 16 Blocked – Apple Faces Sales Ban in Indonesia Over Local Investment Shortfall: Report – Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (ARCA:VOO)

    October 28, 2024

    Un BBQ et du death métal

    June 2, 2025

    Real Madrid – Manchester City : soirée de rêve pour Mbappé et le Real, le résumé du match

    February 19, 2025
    Our Picks

    We’re LIVE: FinTech LIVE London Global Summit

    October 22, 2024

    Michael Saylor Makes Epic Bitcoin Statement as BTC Price Hits $60,000 By U.Today

    July 14, 2024

    Endeavour Silver en baisse de 13 % après l’acquisition d’une mine péruvienne pour 145 millions $US en espèces et en actions

    April 1, 2025
    Weekly Top

    Dream on technology lève 1,3 million d’euros pour son IA de gestion de crise cyber

    July 2, 2025

    Globeleq boucle le financement pour le projet de stockage en batteries autonome Red Sands

    July 1, 2025

    Tracking Silver Prices? Here’s How You Can Trade And Invest Smartly | Business News

    July 1, 2025
    Editor's Pick

    What crazy rich Asians are looking for in luxury property today

    August 7, 2024

    Escalating geopolitical tensions attract bulls

    June 13, 2025

    L’intégrale de C’est Votre Argent du vendredi 14 février

    February 14, 2025
    © 2025 Invest Intellect
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.