State lawmakers approve legislation needed for property tax reform
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State lawmakers approve legislation needed for property tax reform
Catherine Lucey
The state House of Representatives tonight approved legislation that will allow Mayor Nutter to move ahead with a controversial property tax reform plan.
According to mayoral spokesman Mark McDonald, the House tonight overwhelmingly approved legislation that will allow the city to adjust down the millage rate when the city moves to a property tax system based on market values, known as the Actual Value Initiative (AVI).
The legislation is key because when the city implements AVI, many property assessment will go up. And under state law, the city can't lower millage rates because of rules that are designed to preserve schools funding. So the city needs the ability to bring the tax rate down and still collect similar revenues.
The bill now goes to Governor Corbett for final approval.
Nutter proposed AVI for the current budget cycle, but the plan was delayed for a year in the face of City Council opposition.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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