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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in early May that Allegheny
County must conduct
a property tax reassessment next year. It stopped short of
saying the county’s base-year assessment system is illegal, so
other counties around the state will not necessarily have
to stop using it.
The Supreme Court
decision comes in response to a June 2007 ruling by Allegheny
County Court Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. He said the base-year
system “guarantees unfairness
and punishes owners of lower-priced properties.”
Businesses Welcome Reassessment
Many commercial
property owners feel a revaluation could be more beneficial than
keeping
the status quo. That’s because with the economic downturn,
assessments may not properly reflect the current downturn in the
real estate market.
The system
discriminates against owners who purchase a commercial property
that declines
in value and loses tenants after the sale. Without a
reassessment, the owner is restricted in filing a new appeal.
Reassessment Challenged
The Supreme Court
ordered Judge Wettick to take control of this case and determine
a realistic timetable for reassessing properties for the 2010
tax year. However, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato is
vowing to do everything in his power to prevent a countywide
reassessment.
Onorato plans to
lobby the Pennsylvania Legislature for a statewide solution to
the problems associated with base-year assessments. If the
legislature fails to act, he says he will consider filing a
federal lawsuit under the 14th Amendment’s “equal protection”
clause.
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