Philadelphia Could See Extra $55M In Taxes
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A report from the city controller says Philadelphia is about to reap a windfall as ten-year property tax abatements expire.
The abatements, exempting the building value portion of real estate taxes, were controversial, because they were only for new development, while long-time residents received no benefits, but city controller Alan Butkovitz says it's working exactly as it was supposed to:
"In 1998, before the abatements were enacted, nobody was building anything in Philadelphia and, just as was contemplated, this has now created a momentum that's built upon itself and the city is now in a position to start reaping the profit from that."
Butkovitz says 10,000 properties will be returning to the tax rolls in the next five years, adding $4-billion to the total value of taxable property.
That would generate $55-million in taxes -- $30-million of which would go to the school district and $25-million to the general fund.
He says most of the properties return to the tax rolls in 2018 and 2019.
