Title
Amending Chapter 19-1300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Real Estate Taxes," by providing for installment payment agreements and requiring commencement of enforcement action, all under certain terms and conditions.
Body
WHEREAS, Tax collection and vacant land redevelopment are essential for the City's economic and community development; and
WHEREAS, Collection of municipal debt should be prompt, efficient, transparent, consistent, and effective; and
WHEREAS, The City's current delinquent property tax collection system falls short of these foundational goals and is characterized by delay, inefficiency, inconsistency, confusion, and ineffectiveness - a state of affairs that has persisted for years and across multiple administrations; and
WHEREAS, Accurate and timely reporting of data related to tax collection activities and assistance programs is necessary to evaluate their outcomes and efficacy, but generally is not now available; and
WHEREAS, As reported in a recent Philadelphia Inquirer/PlanPhilly special report, Philadelphia "runs the least-effective delinquent-property-tax-collection system of the nation's biggest cities," and has over 110,000 tax delinquent parcels - nearly 19% of all parcels in the City; and
WHEREAS, As also reported by the Inquirer/PlanPhilly, "[t]he city's typical tax delinquent is 6.5 years behind and owes $4,249 in taxes, penalties, and interest"; the delinquency on 26,000 properties extends a decade or more; and the owners of nearly 8,500 properties have not paid real estate taxes for 20 years or more; and
WHEREAS, This high level of delinquency is due in part to barriers in accessing appropriate repayment agreements, including the "financial hardship agreements" that are supposed to be available for low-income taxpayers; again, as reported by the Inquirer/PlanPhilly, financial hardship agreements are in place for only about 1,000 delinquent properties; and
WHEREAS, The City's existing appro...
Click here for full text