Paul Morcom

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The Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (“STEB”) has released the Common Level Ratio (“CLR”) real estate valuation factors for 2018.  The common level ratio is the ratio of assessed value to market value used to value properties in a particular county for property tax purposes, and is used for purposes of appealing property tax assessments…

The annual assessment appeal deadline of August 1, 2019 for assessed values effective for tax year January 1, 2020 is quickly approaching for the following Pennsylvania Counties:

Adams, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Indiana, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and York.

The annual assessment appeal deadline of September 1…

The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Property Assessment has recently begun to send out Notices of Property Market Value for 2020.  If you think your proposed 2020 Market Value is incorrect, you may request an informal review by filing a First Level Review form by May 24, 2019.  If you choose to file a formal…

Property owners in Allegheny County have until April 1, 2019 to file assessment appeals this year.  The usual appeal deadline in Allegheny County is March 31.  However, because March 31 falls on a Sunday the deadline is moved to the next business day, or April 1, 2019.

If you have any questions about appealing your…

In In Re: Consolidated Appeals of Chester-Upland School District and Chichester School District v. Board of Assessment Appeals of Delaware County, 633 C.D. 2017 (12/27/18), the Commonwealth Court (“Court”) vacated the trial court’s April 27, 2017 Order ruling that Chester-Upland School District and Chichester School District (“Appellants”) may not consider the presence of an…

In Betters, et. al. v. Beaver County, 152 C.D. 2018 (12/18/18), the Commonwealth Court affirmed the trial court’s determination that Beaver County’s (“County”) base-year method of property valuation violated the Uniformity Clause of Article VIII, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Consolidated Assessment law and mandated the County to complete a countywide…

Nonprofit entities that own Pennsylvania real property are under relentless attack from local taxing jurisdictions regarding the exempt status of property used for charitable purposes, and thus must be ever vigilant in fighting back to either maintain a property’s exempt status or gain exempt status for a newly built or acquired property.

To be successful,…

On October 1, 2018, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“DOR”) revised its Tax Bulletin – Sales and Use Tax 2018-02 to be effective July 1, 2019 instead of the previous effective date of January 1, 2019.  This change gives manufacturers of malt or brewed beverages an extra 6-months to become compliant with collecting and remitting…