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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 16, 2013 10:16 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Mark Painter |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Constitutional Amendment Expanding the Homestead Exclusion |
| In the near future I plan to introduce a Constitutional Amendment to provide for more significant residential property tax reductions for homesteads statewide. This constitutional amendment accompanies my legislation that would exclude all homesteads from school property taxation. Currently, the Pennsylvania Constitution allows local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 50% of the median assessed value of homestead property within the taxing district. "Median assessed value" is the middle value of all the homesteads in a taxing district when you put them in numerical order. The simplest way to understand this -- if you have three properties, one worth $100,000, and another worth $250,000 and the last worth $150,000 when you place these values in numerical order, the "median assessed value" would be $150,000. This would allow for an exclusion on a person’s property of $75,000. While the current approach is helpful, I believe the Pennsylvania Constitution must be amended in order to provide more significant relief. My Constitutional Amendment would give the authority to the General Assembly to authorize local taxing authorities to eliminate the entire assessed value of each homestead within the local taxing jurisdiction. Should this amendment be adopted the General Assembly will finally have the ability to achieve true property tax relief. Please join me in supporting this much needed amendment to our Constitution. |