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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 28, 2013 12:04 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Bryan Cutler |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Clean and Green Property Tax Relief (Former HB 339) |
| As you know, Act 319 of 1974, commonly referred to as “Clean and Green”, provides an opportunity for landowners to enroll tracts of land in specified categories of land use in the program. In exchange for keeping land in a "green" use, qualifying landowners then receive preferential property tax assessment. Statewide there are over 130,00 parcels totaling nearly 8 million acres enrolled in the program, so the program does successfully provide landowners with an incentive to keep lands open. However, in many local taxing authorities, where participation is high, there is significant erosion of the overall tax base, making it difficult for the taxing authority to generate revenue without placing an undue burden on tax payers not eligible for Clean and Green. Since this dilemma has been created by a state program, I believe it is appropriate that the state assist in a remedy and, therefore, will be introducing an amendment to Act 319 (Clean and Green) which will provide state funds to compensate those local taxing authorities that lose ten percent (10%) or more of their assessed value as a result of this act. Our Total Act 319 Exemptions are $468,839,500.00. At our millage rate of .0096378 this equates to $4,518,581.00 in tax dollars that are shifted to non-clean and green property owners or approximately a 27% INCREASE in the average property tax bill for non-clean and green property owners. The other schools districts are similar, but not as drastic with assessed values ranging from 57 million up to 240 million and increases of a low of 6.2% and 9.5% to 20.4% and 25.2%. In one of my local school districts they already have an increased EIT tax and now that Act 1 caps are in place there is no way to ever equalize the funding formula. These districts are perpetually locked into an unfair tax redistribution to fund Clean and Green. The formula in this bill will help those areas that have large areas enrolled in clean and green and no other tax base to shift to by providing state funds to make up the difference in assessed value. The state, not local homeowners should pay for this. More specifically, by April 1st of each year, the local taxing authority must submit to the Department of Community and Economic Development data that includes the total normal assessed value of all real estate in their jurisdiction, the total normal assessed value of all preferentially assessed properties and the total preferentially assessed values of properties being taxed at the preferential use value. It must also provide the current fiscal year tax rate for their jurisdiction. If the Department determines that the difference between the normal assessed value and preferentially assessed value of properties enrolled in Clean and Green is 10% or more of the total normal assessed value of all properties, then it shall pay to the local taxing authority 90% of the difference between the normal assessed value and preferential assed value, times the tax rate. PREVIOUS CO-SPONSORS: HARHART, HESS, HORNAMAN, LAWRENCE, METZGAR, PYLE, ROCK, SONNEY AND SWANGER |