The long-delayed overhaul of Philadelphia’s property-tax assessment system will likely be put off for another year. The move postpones a politically difficult transition, which is expected to eventually lead to significantly higher property-tax bills for many Philadelphians and lower bills for others. The delay will also preserve for at least another year what critics say is an inequitable and inaccurate system. Assessed property values in Philadelphia tend to be unduly high in poor neighborhoods and are frequently unrealistically low for residents of expensive neighborhoods. Delaying the switch to the new assessment method – known as the actual value initiative – has become something of an annual rite in City Hall, which has punted on the issue since 2006. The initiative would reassess all properties in the city at actual value and do away with the confusing fractional system, which purportedly assesses properties at 32 percent, rather than 100 percent, of market value. Click here to read the full article.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 2/27/09