PRINTER'S NO. 2706
No. 1973 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY LEACH, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, CURRY, DeWEESE,
FABRIZIO, FRANKEL, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HENNESSEY, PISTELLA,
READSHAW, REED, SCAVELLO, STURLA, SURRA AND WRIGHT,
SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
AN ACT
1 Providing for homeowner property tax rebates and for penalties;
2 and making a related repeal.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Homeowners'
7 Property Tax Rebate Act.
8 Section 2. Definitions.
9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
12 "Amount of funds." The amount of funds in the Property Tax
13 Relief Fund at a specified time as determined by the Department
14 of Revenue.
15 "Assessor." The chief assessor of a county, the equivalent
16 position in a home rule county or the equivalent position in a
17 city of the third class that performs its own assessments of
1 real property.
2 "Department." The Department of Revenue of the Commonwealth
3 or its designee.
4 "Homeowner." An owner of a homestead who is any of the
5 following:
6 (1) An individual who is a natural person domiciled in
7 this Commonwealth.
8 (2) A grantor who has placed real property in a
9 revocable trust, if the grantor is a natural person domiciled
10 in this Commonwealth.
11 (3) A partner of a family farm partnership or a
12 shareholder of a family farm corporation as the terms are
13 defined in section 1101-C of act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6,
14 No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, if the partner
15 or shareholder is a natural person domiciled in this
16 Commonwealth.
17 "Homestead." The owner-occupied, primary residence and the
18 parcel of land within this Commonwealth on which the residence
19 is located and other improvements located on the parcel. If a
20 portion of the structure is used for a nonresidential purpose,
21 the homestead is equal to that portion of the property used as
22 the primary residence of the owner-occupant. This definition
23 shall have no effect, evidentiary or otherwise, concerning the
24 issue of whether the property constitutes a homestead or
25 homestead property under any other act.
26 "Property Tax Relief Fund." The Property Relief Fund
27 established under 4 Pa.C.S. § 1409 (relating to Property Tax
28 Relief Fund).
29 "Rebate." The amount of money calculated by multiplying the
30 Statewide property tax rebate percentage for the tax year by the
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1 school property taxes paid by a homeowner for the same tax year.
2 "Residence." A structure used as a place of habitation by
3 the owner of the structure.
4 "School property tax." The total real property tax imposed
5 by a school district on a homestead for the tax year. Real
6 property tax imposed by a city of the first class shall
7 constitute taxes imposed by a school district for the purposes
8 of this definition. The term does not include payments made in
9 lieu of taxes or any penalties or interest paid in connection
10 with the tax.
11 "Senior Citizens Rebate and Assistance Act." The act of
12 March 11, 1971 (P.L.104, No.3), known as the Senior Citizens
13 Rebate and Assistance Act.
14 "Statewide property tax rebate percentage." The percentage
15 calculated pursuant to section 5(a).
16 "Tax Reform Code." The act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2),
17 known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971.
18 "Tax year." The school district's fiscal year during which
19 real property tax is due and payable.
20 Section 3. Qualifications.
21 (a) Issuance.--Subject to section 4, a rebate shall be
22 issued on account of school property taxes for a homestead if
23 all of the following apply:
24 (1) The homeowner occupied the homestead during the tax
25 year.
26 (2) The homeowner has fully paid school property tax
27 owed on the homestead for the tax year.
28 (3) The homeowner is the homeowner of record for the
29 year the school property taxes were paid and for which the
30 rebate is to be issued.
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1 (4) The homeowner applies in a form and time prescribed
2 by the department.
3 (b) Title.--If title to a homestead is held by more than one
4 individual, a rebate shall be issued in the names appearing on
5 the school property tax record.
6 Section 4. Administration.
7 (a) Procedures.--The department shall establish any
8 administrative and application procedures and deadlines
9 necessary to implement and administer this act. The department
10 may enter into any contracts which are necessary to administer
11 this act.
12 (b) Submittal.--Every assessor shall submit to the
13 department a list, categorized by school district, of all
14 residential and farm real property and owners of record within
15 its jurisdiction. The list shall include only those homeowners
16 of record who have fully paid the school property taxes owed on
17 their respective homesteads for the tax year.
18 (c) Determination.--The department shall make the initial
19 determination of homeowner rebate eligibility from information
20 submitted by the homeowner. The department shall thereafter
21 forward the list of eligible homeowners to the respective
22 assessor.
23 (d) Verification.--Within 30 days after receipt of the list
24 of eligible homeowners, the assessor shall verify the list and
25 report to the department any corrections to the list.
26 (e) Finalization.--The department shall finalize the list
27 and authorize rebates which shall be issued and mailed to the
28 homeowners pursuant to section 5. If the assessor fails to
29 verify the list or notify the department of any corrections
30 within the time limitation set forth under subsection (d), the
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1 department shall authorize rebates to all homeowners on the list
2 developed by the department pursuant to subsection (c).
3 Section 5. Calculation.
4 (a) Rebate percentage.--The department shall calculate the
5 Statewide property tax rebate percentage for the tax year by
6 dividing the amount of funds by the total amount of school
7 property taxes paid by qualified homeowners who reported to the
8 department under section 4(e).
9 (b) Application.--The Statewide property tax rebate
10 percentage calculated pursuant to subsection (a) shall be
11 applied to the school property taxes paid for the tax year by
12 all homeowners included in the calculation under section 4(e).
13 The resulting number shall be the amount of rebate issued to the
14 homeowner for the tax year.
15 (c) Limitation.--No homeowner may receive a rebate in excess
16 of the total amount of school property taxes paid for the tax
17 year. If a homeowner received a rebate for the tax year under
18 the Senior Citizens Rebate and Assistance Act, the amount of
19 rebate to be issued under this act shall be reduced so that the
20 total amount of that rebate plus the amount received under the
21 Senior Citizens Rebate and Assistance Act do not exceed the
22 amount of school property taxes paid for the tax year.
23 Section 6. Petitions for review.
24 A homeowner whose rebate is either denied, corrected or
25 otherwise adversely affected by either the department or the
26 assessor may petition for administrative review in the manner
27 prescribed by the department. An individual aggrieved by the
28 department's action in connection with the administrative review
29 may petition for review in the manner specified in sections 11.1
30 and 11.2 of the Senior Citizens Rebate and Assistance Act.
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1 Section 7. Penalties.
2 (a) Refund and payment.--Any homeowner who receives a rebate
3 through false or misleading information or who otherwise
4 improperly receives a rebate may be required to do one or all of
5 the following:
6 (1) Refund to the department the amount of rebate
7 received.
8 (2) Pay a civil penalty of $500 to be deposited in the
9 Property Tax Relief Fund.
10 (3) Serve a term of imprisonment for not more than 30
11 days.
12 (b) Offset.--The department may offset any rebate due to a
13 homeowner against any of the following:
14 (1) Collectible liabilities owed to the Commonwealth by
15 the homeowner for taxes imposed under Article III of the Tax
16 Reform Code.
17 (2) Outstanding child support obligations.
18 Section 8. Erroneous rebates.
19 (a) Redetermination.--If the department determines or finds
20 a rebate to have been incorrectly or erroneously paid, it shall
21 redetermine the correct amount of the rebate, if any, and notify
22 the homeowner of the reason for the correction and the amount of
23 the rebate.
24 (b) Recoverable.--If a rebate has been issued in error and
25 the homeowner fails to refund the rebate upon the department's
26 request, the rebate shall be recoverable by the department in
27 the same manner as assessments as provided for in the Senior
28 Citizens Rebate and Assistance Act.
29 Section 9. Construction.
30 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any property tax
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1 rebate received under this act shall not be considered income
2 under Article III of the Tax Reform Code or for purposes of
3 determining eligibility for any State government program,
4 including those programs authorized by the Senior Citizens
5 Rebate and Assistance Act, or Chapter 5 of the act of August 26,
6 1971 (P.L.351, No.91), known as the State Lottery Law.
7 Section 19. Repeals.
8 Repeals are as follows:
9 (1) The General Assembly declares that the repeal under
10 paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
11 act.
12 (2) The provisions of the act of July 5, 2004 (P.L.654,
13 No.72), known as the Homeowner Tax Relief Act, are repealed
14 absolutely except insofar as they relate to tax relief in
15 cities of the first class.
16 Section 20. Effective date.
17 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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