Pennsylvania real estate taxes are usually very large line items on any corporate balance sheet. Accordingly, you should be reviewing your assessed value(s) on an annual basis if you are a Pennsylvania commercial or industrial property owner or a lessee of a commercial or industrial property that pays the property taxes as part of your…

A little known statutory change now allows for certain fraternal societies to obtain tax exempt status in Pennsylvania.

In Hospital Utilization Project v. Commonwealth, 487 A.2d 1306 (Pa. 1985) (“HUP”), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court set forth the following five-pronged test to determine whether an entity qualifies as “purely public charity” under the Pennsylvania Constitution and…

In Mixell v. Cumberland County Board of Assessment Appeals, 313 A.3d 330 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2024), the Commonwealth Court held that the Board of Assessment Appeals (“Board”) had failed to show proof of mailing sufficient to establish that a property owner had received hearing notices in her property tax appeal.

The property owner had filed…

In HUF Restaurant, Inc. v. Commonwealth, Docket No. 394 F.R. 2018 (04/19/2024), a three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that HUF Restaurant, Inc. (“HUF”), which had purchased restaurant assets and a liquor license from Zola New World Bistro, Ltd. (“Zola”) in a bulk sale transaction, was liable for unpaid sales and use…

The deadline for filing a real estate tax assessment appeal for the 2024 tax year is fast approaching in Allegheny County.  The deadline is April 1, 2024.  The Common Level Ratio for 2024 is 54.5%.

Allegheny County is the only county out of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania whereby you appeal the assessed value when…

On January 10, 2024, the Commonwealth Court held in NHL Players Ass’n v. City of Pittsburgh, (No. 1150 C.D. 2022) that the City of Pittsburgh’s Facility Tax — a unique tax on nonresidents who use a sports stadium or arena (“Facility”) to engage in an athletic event or other performance — violated the Pennsylvania Constitution.…

On October 16, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted Tower Health’s Petition for Allowance of Appeal related to the Montgomery County hospital property. The Supreme Court is going to address the following two issues on appeal:

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