Big changes may be in store for Pennsylvania’s property tax system. A Court of Common Pleas ruled in early June that the practice of using a base-year valuation rate for an indefinite period of time without reassessment violates the uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

VALUATION
Pennsylvania’s assessment laws are different from most other states. Pennsylvania is one of only two states that allow base year valuation rates to remain unchanged for years at a time. Delaware is the only other state with a similar assessment system.

For example, Allegheny County uses 2002 as its base year. Real estate taxes for 2007 are determined using the 2002 fair market value of taxpayers’ properties. Under this system, yearly market fluctuations cannot be considered.

REASSESSMENT
Pennsylvania does not require counties to conduct property reassessments. As a result, few regularly do so.

The court decision noted that more than half of the state’s counties have not conducted a comprehensive countywide reassessment within the 20-year period from 1985-2005. Figures are not available for the years after 2005.

COURT DECISION
According to the court, Pennsylvania’s property tax assessment laws violate the uniformity clause because they do not evaluate all properties at the same ratio of assessed value to actual value. This is due to the fact that base year valuation rates stay the same for a number of years and reassessments are not conducted on a routine basis.