| |
|
| |
| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
| |
| SENATE BILL |
|
| |
| |
| INTRODUCED BY FERLO, LOGAN, COSTA, FONTANA, O'PAKE, BOSCOLA, TARTAGLIONE, WILLIAMS, STOUT, WOZNIAK, EARLL, STACK AND WARD, MAY 26, 2010 |
| |
| |
| REFERRED TO FINANCE, MAY 26, 2010 |
| |
| |
| |
| AN ACT |
| |
1 | Amending the act of June 27, 2006 (1st Sp.Sess., P.L.1873, |
2 | No.1), entitled "An act providing for taxation by school |
3 | districts, for the State funds formula, for tax relief in |
4 | first class cities, for school district choice and voter |
5 | participation, for other school district options and for a |
6 | task force on school cost reduction; making an appropriation; |
7 | prohibiting prior authorized taxation; providing for |
8 | installment payment of taxes; restricting the power of |
9 | certain school districts to levy, assess and collect taxes; |
10 | and making related repeals," further providing for homestead |
11 | and farmstead exclusions. |
12 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
13 | hereby enacts as follows: |
14 | Section 1. Sections 341 and 342 of the act of June 27, 2006 |
15 | (1st Sp.Sess., P.L.1873, No.1), known as the Taxpayer Relief |
16 | Act, are amended to read: |
17 | Section 341. Homestead and farmstead applications. |
18 | (a) [(Reserved).] Availability of applications.--Each school |
19 | district and county assessor shall be required to make the |
20 | application and instructions to designate property as homestead |
21 | or farmstead property for purposes of receiving school district |
22 | property tax relief under this act available to property owners. |
|
1 | The applications shall be made available at the administrative |
2 | offices of the school district, the county assessor's office |
3 | and, if one is maintained, the school district's or county |
4 | assessor's Internet website. Notwithstanding any other provision |
5 | of law to the contrary, applications shall be available to |
6 | property owners at all times. |
7 | (b) Annual notification.-- |
8 | (1) No later than 60 days prior to the application |
9 | deadline in subsection (c), a board of school directors shall |
10 | notify by first class mail the owner of each parcel of |
11 | residential property within the district of [the existence of |
12 | the school district's homestead and farmstead exclusion |
13 | program, the need to file an application in accordance with |
14 | 53 Pa.C.S. § 8584(a) (relating to administration and |
15 | procedure) in order to qualify for the program and the |
16 | application deadline] all of the following: |
17 | (i) The owner may qualify for State funds to reduce |
18 | school district property taxes on the owner's primary |
19 | residence. |
20 | (ii) Funds used to reduce residential property taxes |
21 | are generated through taxes imposed on legalized gaming |
22 | in this Commonwealth's casinos and, if applicable, earned |
23 | income or personal income taxes levied by the school |
24 | district. |
25 | (iii) The owner must apply for the property tax |
26 | reduction by March 1 and have such application approved |
27 | in order to receive the property tax reduction. |
28 | (iv) That an application can be obtained from the |
29 | school district's or the county assessor's office. |
30 | (iv) The name, mailing address and Internet website |
|
1 | of the entity with which the application shall be filed. |
2 | (v) Failure of an owner to apply for property tax |
3 | reduction funds will result in the owner being ineligible |
4 | to receive property tax reduction funds for the upcoming |
5 | year. |
6 | A school district may limit the annual notification to owners |
7 | of residential property: |
8 | [(1)] (i) who are not currently approved; or |
9 | [(2)] (ii) whose approval is due to expire. |
10 | (2) Beginning on January 1, 2011, the Department of |
11 | Community and Economic Development, each school district and |
12 | each county assessor shall publicize the existence of the |
13 | property tax relief program created pursuant to this act on |
14 | its Internet website, if it maintains such a website. The |
15 | website, at a minimum, shall provide the information required |
16 | under paragraph (1). |
17 | (c) Application deadline.--In accordance with 53 Pa.C.S. § |
18 | 8584(b), the deadline for filing an application with the |
19 | assessor shall be March 1. |
20 | (d) Action on application.--Real property for which an |
21 | application has been filed by the application deadline shall be |
22 | deemed to be a homestead or farmstead property which is eligible |
23 | for a homestead or farmstead exclusion unless the assessor |
24 | denies the application. Denials of application by the assessor |
25 | and the right to appeal that decision shall be in accordance |
26 | with 53 Pa.C.S. § 8584(d) and (e). |
27 | (e) Application review and submission.--Except as set forth |
28 | in 53 Pa.C.S. § 8584(j), an assessor shall not require the owner |
29 | of a previously approved property to resubmit an application |
30 | more than one time every [three] five years. |
|
1 | (f) Applicability.--The provisions of 53 Pa.C.S. § 8584(f), |
2 | (g), (h) and (j) shall apply to any application filed under this |
3 | section. |
4 | (g) Duties of assessors.-- |
5 | (1) The assessor shall mail to the owner of property for |
6 | which an application has been submitted and approved or |
7 | denied under this section notice of such fact no later than |
8 | 30 days after receipt of the application. |
9 | (2) (i) The assessor shall notify, in writing, the |
10 | owner of any homestead or farmstead property designated |
11 | as such under any other statute of the need, if any, to |
12 | resubmit an application to maintain the property's |
13 | eligibility as a homestead or farmstead property. |
14 | (ii) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to |
15 | prohibit a county assessor from designating property |
16 | previously determined to be homestead property under any |
17 | other statute as homestead or farmstead property for |
18 | purposes of this section. |
19 | (3) The assessor shall provide each school district and |
20 | the Department of Community and Economic Development with a |
21 | certified report, as provided in 53 Pa.C.S. § 8584(i), no |
22 | later than May 1. |
23 | (4) The assessor shall publicize the existence of the |
24 | school district property tax reduction program created |
25 | pursuant to this act on its Internet website in accordance |
26 | with subsection (b)(2). |
27 | (5) In addition to the requirements of this section, the |
28 | assessor shall make applications available to property owners |
29 | at the office of the assessor on its Internet website. |
30 | (6) No later than November 1 of each year, the assessor |
|
1 | shall submit an official copy of its application to the |
2 | Department of Community and Economic Development, which shall |
3 | post the application on its Internet website. |
4 | (h) Uniform application and instructions.--[The application] |
5 | (1) The Department of Community and Economic Development |
6 | shall develop the application and instructions to be used by |
7 | county assessors to designate property as homestead or |
8 | farmstead property for purposes of receiving school district |
9 | property tax relief. The application and instructions shall |
10 | [be uniform and shall include instructions for completing the |
11 | application. The Department of Community and Economic |
12 | Development shall develop a uniform application and |
13 | instructions to be used by county assessors and shall publish |
14 | the uniform application and instructions no later than 15 |
15 | days after the effective date of this section. Nothing in |
16 | this subsection shall be construed to require the department |
17 | to develop and publish the uniform allocation and |
18 | instructions if the department did so during calendar year |
19 | 2004.]: |
20 | (i) be uniform in each county throughout this |
21 | Commonwealth; |
22 | (ii) clearly state that the application must be |
23 | submitted by the property owner in order for the property |
24 | owner to be eligible for a school district property tax |
25 | reduction; |
26 | (iii) inform the property owner that funds used to |
27 | reduce residential property taxes under this act are |
28 | generated through taxes imposed on legalized gaming in |
29 | this Commonwealth's casinos and, if applicable, earned |
30 | income or personal income taxes levied by the school |
|
1 | district; |
2 | (iv) advise the property owner that he must apply |
3 | for the property tax reduction by March 1 of each year |
4 | and have such application approved in order to receive |
5 | the property tax reduction; |
6 | (v) inform the property owner of the name, mailing |
7 | address and Internet website of the entity with which the |
8 | application shall be filed; and |
9 | (vi) inform the property owner that failure of an |
10 | owner to apply for property tax reduction funds will |
11 | result in the owner being ineligible to receive property |
12 | tax reduction funds for the upcoming year. |
13 | (2) The Department of Community and Economic Development |
14 | shall publish the uniform application and instructions |
15 | required under paragraph (1) in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and |
16 | on its Internet website no later than 30 days after the |
17 | effective date of this paragraph. |
18 | (i) Prohibitions.--A county shall not require an application |
19 | fee for the filing or review of an application submitted under |
20 | this section or under 53 Pa.C.S. § 8584(a). |
21 | (j) Applications previously filed.--An application filed |
22 | between September 3, 2004, and the effective date of this |
23 | section shall be used to qualify an applicant for the program. |
24 | Section 342. Homestead and farmstead exclusion process. |
25 | Each fiscal year in which a school district imposes a tax |
26 | authorized under section 321 or receives a property tax |
27 | reduction allocation from gaming tax revenues pursuant to |
28 | Chapter 5, the district shall calculate a homestead and |
29 | farmstead exclusion for the purpose of reducing school district |
30 | property taxes. The school district shall adopt a resolution |
|
1 | implementing the homestead and farmstead exclusion no later than |
2 | the last day of the fiscal year immediately preceding the fiscal |
3 | year in which the homestead and farmstead exclusions shall take |
4 | effect. |
5 | Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read: |
6 | Section 342.1. Acknowledgment of receipt of funds from Property |
7 | Tax Relief Fund. |
8 | Upon receipt of notice from the department of the amount of |
9 | the school district's property tax allocation pursuant to |
10 | section 505(a)(4), and prior to adoption of the resolution |
11 | required under section 342 or a final budget for the upcoming |
12 | fiscal year, the governing body of each school district shall |
13 | adopt a separate resolution setting forth all of the following: |
14 | (1) The amount of the school district's property tax |
15 | reduction allocation. |
16 | (2) The amount each qualified homestead and farmstead |
17 | property owner will receive in school district property tax |
18 | relief from State gaming revenue based on the amount of the |
19 | school district's allocation identified in paragraph (1). |
20 | (3) An estimate of the amount of additional property tax |
21 | relief to be received by the property owner based on any |
22 | earned income tax or personal income tax levied by the school |
23 | district, if applicable. |
24 | Section 3. Section 343 of the act is amended to read: |
25 | Section 343. School district tax notices. |
26 | (a) Tax notice.--A [school district that implements |
27 | homestead and farmstead exclusions shall itemize the homestead |
28 | and farmstead exclusion on tax bills sent to homestead and |
29 | farmstead owners, indicating the original amount of tax |
30 | liability, the amount of the exclusion and the net amount of tax |
|
1 | due after the exclusion is applied. The tax bill shall be easily |
2 | understandable and include a notice pursuant to subsection (b).] |
3 | school district tax bill sent to a homestead or farmstead |
4 | property owner shall include an itemized list of the following |
5 | information: |
6 | (1) The property owner's tax liability. |
7 | (2) The property owner's assessment. |
8 | (3) The amount that the property owner's assessment has |
9 | been reduced as a result of a homestead and farmstead |
10 | exclusion. |
11 | (4) The amount of property tax relief received by the |
12 | property owner for the fiscal year from proceeds from |
13 | legalized gaming within this Commonwealth as certified under |
14 | section 342.1(2). |
15 | (5) The estimated amount of property tax relief received |
16 | by the property owner for the fiscal year from revenues on |
17 | any earned income tax or personal income tax levied by the |
18 | school district, if applicable, as certified under section |
19 | 342.1(3). |
20 | (6) The dollar amount of any millage rate increase |
21 | adopted by the governing body for the upcoming fiscal year. |
22 | The tax bill shall be easily understandable and include a notice |
23 | pursuant to subsection (b). |
24 | (b) Notice of property tax relief.--[A school district that |
25 | implements homestead and farmstead exclusions] Each school |
26 | district shall include with the homestead or farmstead owner's |
27 | tax bill a notice that the [tax bill includes a homestead or |
28 | farmstead exclusion] individual has received property tax relief |
29 | generated through taxes imposed on legalized gaming in this |
30 | Commonwealth's casinos and, if applicable, earned income taxes |
|
1 | levied by the school district. The notice shall at a minimum |
2 | take the following form: |
3 | NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX RELIEF |
4 | Your enclosed tax bill includes a tax reduction [for your |
5 | homestead and/or farmstead property. As an eligible homestead |
6 | and/or farmstead property owner, you have received tax relief |
7 | through a homestead and/or farmstead exclusion] which has been |
8 | provided under the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act, a law |
9 | passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly designed to reduce |
10 | your property taxes through taxes imposed on legalized gaming in |
11 | this Commonwealth's casinos and earned income or personal income |
12 | taxes levied by the school district. To date, you have received |
13 | $ in property tax relief through taxes imposed on legalized |
14 | gaming in this Commonwealth's casinos. However, this amount does |
15 | not reflect any property tax increases imposed by the board of |
16 | school directors during that same period. |
17 | Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
|