State Senate Approves Tax Measures Sought By Mayor Nutter
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Pennsylvania state senate yesterday gave thumbs-up to two measures that the Nutter administration said will help mitigate the effects of Philadelphia's property tax overhaul known as "Actual Value Inituative" (AVI).
One measure involves property tax deadbeats.
One of the two measures -- authored by the City Council president's staff, sought by the mayor and City Council, and now heading to the governor -- will allow Philadelphians to pay property taxes in installments; the other will let the city go after tax delinquents by placing liens on their properties in other counties.
State senator Mike Stack (D-Phila.), speaking on the floor of the state senate, said that change is sorely needed.
"Philadelphia, of all the cities in this country, (has) one of the highest levels of delinquency. It is between 400 and 500 million dollars of uncollected revenue that could be collected," he said.
Philadelphia officials believe this new power to impose liens could raise an estimated $30 million for city schools alone.
The passage of the bills comes one day after the state senate also okayed another measure sought by the Nutter administration, which allows the city to impose means-based standards on gentrification relief for property taxes.
The governor is expected to sign all the bills.
