Tax Fairness Measure Included in PA Budget Agreement, Causer Says
HARRISBURG – Continuing his commitment to fight for rural Pennsylvania, Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) said this year’s state budget agreement will include a much-needed increase in the state’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILT).
Pending approval by the House and Senate, the PILT on state-owned forest lands will increase from $3.60 per acre to $6 per acre. The PILT is divided equally among the municipalities, school districts and counties in which the land is located.
“This measure will go a long way toward bringing some much-needed tax fairness to our rural communities,” Causer said. “Our region has hundreds of thousands of acres of state-owned lands, all of which are tax exempt, and that has placed a significant strain on our local government and school district budgets.
“This increase in the PILT is good news for taxpayers throughout our region,” he added.
Causer has long been a leader in the effort to boost PILT payments. He is the prime sponsor of
House Bill 344, introduced earlier this session, which also would increase PILT payments to $6 per acre. He also sponsored the legislation that led to the last PILT adjustment in 2006, when the rate increased from $1.20 per acre to the current $3.60 per acre. Causer has worked closely with Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-Brockway) and the Pennsylvania Land Tax Fairness Coalition to advance this legislation.
The PILT increase would apply only to Department of Conservation and Natural Resources forest land. The PILT for lands owned by the Fish and Boat Commission and the Game Commission will remain at $3.60 per acre.
Representative Martin T. Causer
67th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Patricia A. Hippler
phippler@pahousegop.com
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