May 11, 2015 -- Leaders of the Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition returned home May 6 with some encouraging news. They reported that they were well-received and were assured by some of the key leaders in Harrisburg that their mission has support. Whether that will translate into action remains to be seen.
April 14, 2015 -- Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Committee took its case to the office of Governor Tom Wolf last week. In meetings with two of the governor’s staffers, coalition leaders stressed the importance of including a carve-out of state land gas/oil leasing revenue and higher payments-in-lieu-of-taxes on state land included in this year’s budget and tax policy debates.
April 10, 2015 – The Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition has been chosen to receive a Special Achievement in GIS Award, to be presented at the annual Esri International User Conference in July 20-24. This is a tremendous compliment to the GIS professionals who have been with the coalition. Their work can be found under the website’s Maps/Charts/Data tab.
March 25, 2015 -- Leaders of the Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition added allies after a presentation to the Assessment and Taxation Committee of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP). Following the program, Committee Chairman Jim Hertzler (shown) of Cumberland County reaffirmed the committee’s strong support for HB 343 and HB 344, now before a Pa. House of Representatives committee.
March 20, 2015 – Elk County has unveiled an online tool and other resources to support the Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition. It was created by Elk County IT/GIS director Jim Abbey for a county in which only 23 percent of land (126,548 of a total 533,724 acres) is generating local taxes at market value. The resources are being hosted on the county’s website and will also be shared on the official Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness website,
March 17, 2015 – Rural counties in the state’s Northern Tier are not the only ones facing a real estate tax crunch as the result of a high proportion of state land. Take Centre County for an example.
March 16, 2015 – The Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition mission will be laid out before commissioners from several Pennsylvania counties on Sunday, March 22, in Harrisburg. Representatives will be seeking continued support from the Assessment and Taxation Committee of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
March 5, 2015 - Another organization has come aboard in support of the Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition. Steering Committee members Paul Heimel and Will Hunt were featured speakers at the March 11 meeting of Potter County Pomona Grange No. 54. Afterwards, the organization unanimously passed a resolution supporting both planks of our mission.
Feb. 27, 2015 – Mission of the Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition reached the highest level of state government on Feb. 26. Representative Martin Causer (R-McKean) discussed the issues during a face-to-face meeting with Governor Tom Wolf.