HARRISBURG, Oct. 4, 2012 — Following the Senate passage of a measure that will help pave the way for the City of Philadelphia’s property tax overhaul plan, state Sen. Mike Stack said today that the city should focus its efforts on collecting the mounting debt that delinquent taxpayers owe the city before considering its Actual Value Initiative (AVI) tax plan.
“Philadelphia has over $500 million in delinquent property taxes but no new plan and very little discussion about how to collect more delinquent property taxes. We’re also still waiting for the revenue numbers from the reassessment to come in,” said Stack (D-Phila.). “These are the issues we need to tackle before we talk about AVI and city property taxes.”
This week, Stack voted against Senate Bill 1303, which would eliminate the state-established millage rate, thereby allowing the City of Philadelphia to establish its own tax rate. It would also allow a one-time exception to Act 46, which currently prohibits the city from decreasing the city-established portion of the School District tax rate. The bill, which was approved 43-5, now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
“Philadelphia residents have been tapped enough over the past few years,” Stack said. “It’s unfair to further burden city residents when there are better solutions to easing the city’s debts.”
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