by KYW's Mike Dunn
Shades of the Boston Tea Party: activists in Philadelphia are calling for a massive taxpayer revolt against sweeping property tax reassessments.
Next Monday brings the deadline for Philadelphia property owners to appeal their reassessments, and a whopping 400,000 of them got notices last month and could appeal (see previous story). Brett Mandel, head of the tax reform group "Philadelphia Forward," is urging all 400,000 to stand up and fight what he calls a "back-door" tax increase:
"Everyone should appeal, because the BRT can't substantiate that being people are being taxed uniformly. So until they fix the system, they shouldn't be increasing anyone's taxes."
Mandel's idea of fixing the system is to switch to what's called "Full Market Valuation," a concept that officials have put on hold. A spokesman for the Board of Revision of Taxes says the latest reassessments are aimed at making property value more fair. The group's site is www.philadelphiaforward.org.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
