City of Philadelphia - File #: 130090

• File #: 130090
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 2/7/2013
• In control: Committee of the Whole
• Title: Authorizing City Council's Committee of the Whole to hold public hearings to examine the City's efforts to collect delinquent real estate taxes owed by owners of residential investment properties and the additional measures and resources required to reduce real estate tax delinquency.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember O'Brien, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Henon, Councilmember Oh, Councilmember Squilla

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
3/20/2013	0	Committee of the Whole	HEARING NOTICES SENT
3/20/2013	0	Committee of the Whole	HEARING HELD
3/20/2013	0	Committee of the Whole	RECESSED
3/19/2013	0	Committee of the Whole	HEARING NOTICES SENT
3/19/2013	0	Committee of the Whole	HEARING HELD
3/19/2013	0	Committee of the Whole	RECESSED
2/7/2013	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED
2/7/2013	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed On Next Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass

Title
Authorizing City Council's Committee of the Whole to hold public hearings to examine the City's efforts to collect delinquent real estate taxes owed by owners of residential investment properties and the additional measures and resources required to reduce real estate tax delinquency.
Body
WHEREAS, It is essential that Philadelphia taxpayers have faith in the fairness of the City's tax collection process and trust that the City diligently pursues all possible avenues to collect delinquent real estate taxes; and

WHEREAS, Reports of cumulative unpaid taxes from prior years indicate that substantial unpaid amounts remain uncollected, engendering public distrust in the overall fairness of the tax collection system; and

WHEREAS, For the purposes of this resolution, a residential investment property is a residential property which is owned by a limited liability company, any other corporate entity or an individual who owns other properties in the City of Philadelphia, has an active Housing Inspection License, or has an offsite mailing address; and

WHEREAS, An examination of Department of Revenue data from 2012 suggests that approximately 50% of tax delinquent residential properties are residential investment properties; and

WHEREAS, The total tax balance owed on residential investment properties accounts for approximately one third of the total outstanding real estate tax debt in the City of Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia should foster an environment which encourages investment in residential properties in order to support local economies, revitalize neighborhoods and commercial corridors, and provide alternatives to homeownership while ensuring that property owners pay taxes for every property they own; and

WHEREAS, City Council must ensure that all individuals who own residential investment properties have access to payment arrangements and that the terms and details of those arrangements are fair, transparent and reasonable, w...