HARRISBURG − October 4, 2024 – State Senator Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks), chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, joined State Senator Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) to host the second in a series of public hearings on Pennsylvania-no issues a consistent real estate revaluation system throughout the county.
The hearing, held yesterday at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, included three panel discussions that highlighted problems with Pennsylvania’s property reassessment system and the impact that reassessments have on municipalities, school districts and properties. First In July, a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on real estate revaluation was held in Pittsburgh.
“The Policy Committee hearing highlighted that Pennsylvania is once again lagging behind the rest of the country in tax fairness, especially in property tax policy. The bipartisan participation in this hearing shows that reassessment is not a partisan issue – the lack of regular reassessments is a problem across the Commonwealth. The General Assembly must prioritize legislation to ensure a fair and uniform property tax system across counties and to provide counties with resources for initial implementation,” Muth said. “Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that does not have any form of required real estate reassessment process, and yet some legislators and government officials continue to utilize tax breaks for certain business sectors and regions in an attempt to grow our state’s economy and encourage our people economic growth, instead of realizing that implementing a fair and equitable tax system is the only way to ensure economic justice and sustainable development.
As of August 2023, Pennsylvania officially became the only state in the nation without statutorily required reassessments on a set cycle. AND study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania found that counties that conduct countywide reassessments on a regular, recurring schedule achieve many benefits for the county. Reassessments allow counties to collect more mill tax revenue, thereby lowering tax rates and reducing the overall housing tax burden. Additionally, countywide reassessments have been shown to improve the fairness and uniformity of property taxation throughout the county.
“The testimony we heard at these hearings confirmed what taxpayers across the Commonwealth know, that Pennsylvania’s property tax system is dysfunctional, costly and unfair. “There is no question that people living in counties that do not reassess are taxed too much to compensate for these outdated property values, while people living and working in counties that do reassess are penalized for their responsibility,” he added Fontana. “Make no mistake that this statewide problem requires a statewide solution, so I am asking taxpayers, attorneys, businesses, local governments, school districts and elected officials to demand that we end this inequity by advocating for routine reassessments across the board. standing. “
Senator Fontana indicated during the hearing that he plans to work with the stakeholders and testifiers who participated in today’s hearing to develop legislation to address problems with Pennsylvania’s reassessment system.
The hearing included Renee Reynolds, director of the state Tax Equalization Commission; David Greene, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Local Government Commission; Dr. Jeffery Weber, researcher; Tim Shrom, Pennsylvania School Business Representatives Association; Lisa Schaefer, Executive Director, Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association; and Josh Zeyn, Pennsylvania Association of Assessors.
State Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) also participated in the hearing virtually.
For more information about this policy hearing and to access all testimony submitted and the full recording of today’s hearing, please visit www.SenatorMuth.com/policy.
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Panel 1: Overview
Panel 2: Statewide effects
Panel 3: Political solutions
