The Assessment Law and Process
Case law used to Appeal the Property Assessment: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. County Commission of Webster County, West Virginia, 488 U.S. 336 (1989), that the practice of placing a new assessment on property which was recently sold, while effecting only minor changes to real estate which has not been sold for a number of years, was a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution. Put differently, “welcome stranger” tax assessment is unconstitutional.
To achieve equitable treatment of taxpayers, the courts require that all properties within a taxing district be uniformly assessed at a similar ratio of assessed value to market value in order to satisfy Article VIII, Section 1, of the Pennsylvania Constitution. This section stipulates that, “[all taxes must be uniform on the same class of subjects, within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax . . . .” (Emphasis added). This provision applies not only to taxes imposed by the Commonwealth, but also to the taxes imposed by local units of government. Although the county board of assessment may not reassess an existing property because it has recently been sold, the sale of a property may alert a taxing district, such as a school district, to appeal the assessment based on the sales price. Taxing districts have the same right of appeal as property owners with regard to real property assessments. This right was upheld by the Commonwealth Court in In re Springfield School District 26 and Vees v. Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeals. 867 A.2d 742 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2005).
While the economy continues to suffer, it is of great importance for home owners to save money at every opportunity. Here at the Law Offices of Michael Kuldiner, P.C. we are experts at lowering property taxes to their appropriate levels so that you no longer have to overpay. Our Real Estate Tax Specialists are able to lower your property taxes using our intimate knowledge of the process and property evaluations. The sooner the process is started the sooner we can save you money! Contact our Firm today at (215) 942-2100 so we can start work on your real estate tax appeals. We can quickly determine whether your property is over assessed and explain how we can begin the appeal process. Our process enables property owners to realize a great deal of savings afforded to them by the reduction in assessments.
SERVICE ADVANTAGE: The advantage of our service is the fully contingent agreement. We do not charge a single dollar unless your assessment is reduced. This is a nominal one-time fee considering the tax savings you will enjoy for years to come. Do you feel you are paying too much in property taxes? YOU PROBABLY ARE!
Lower your Taxes and save money! Most Property taxes are unfair and many homeowners end up paying too much while others do not pay their fair share. All property owners should appeal their property tax assessments. No matter how undervalued your house is for tax purposes, someone is definitely getting a better deal than you. Follow these steps in order to start a tax appeal on your home What is a tax appeal? The taxes that you pay for the property you own is based on the assessed value that the entire county is assigned by the governmental taxing board.
The local, county and school taxes that you pay are based on the estimation of this assessed value. If this estimation is correct, you pay the correct amount of taxes, usually in your monthly mortgage payment. If this estimation is not correct, then more likely than not, you are paying too much. You have the right to challenge the assessment for your property on an annual basis and each county has a different period for filing an annual county assessment appeal. When you need an attorney to represent you with your legal matters, contact the Law Offices of Michael Kuldiner, P.C. in order to obtain the best results possible in each case.