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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 25, 2023 11:34 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Permitting More Renters to Qualify for Property Tax Rent Rebates |
| The Property Tax Rent Rebate (PTRR) program was established to provide eligible Pennsylvanians with rebates on their property taxes or rent. Every year, low-income senior citizens, widows and widowers ages 50 and older, and people with disabilities age 18 and older benefit from this program. However, many of our seniors and disabled are unable to benefit from the aid due to the prohibitively low income threshold they must meet in order to qualify as a claimant. Rents have increased significantly in the past few years, and many renters with low and fixed incomes face cost-of-living challenges. These low limits are not meeting today’s rising costs, and we need to do better to make housing affordable for our seniors and disabled. To provide much needed financial assistance to our vulnerable Pennsylvanians, my legislation would increase the maximum income limit for renters in PTRR from $15,000 to $35,000, to match the income limit which is already in place for homeowners. The renter income limit has not been updated in more than 35 years, and the time to do so is now. It is our public responsibility to relieve more of our seniors and disabled from additional financial burdens. Increasing the PTRR limits for renters will help make life a little easier for thousands of our friends, neighbors, and family members. Please join me in co-sponsoring legislation to continue to relieve additional burdens for these essential members of our Commonwealth. |