Interest on Real Estate Tax Overpayments

The Commonwealth Court has held that the provisions of the Local Taxpayer Bill of Rights apply to refunds of real estate taxes, requiring that interest be calculated from the date the overpayment was made.  The court overturned prior precedent which had held that interest was only due from the date of the court’s decision.  Appeal of Timothy and Laurie Sullivan, No. 2190 C.D. 2010, ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. Commw. Ct. January 11, 2012).

Real Estate Credits Not Required

In an unreported opinion, the Commonwealth Court has affirmed the decision of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas dismissing a class action complaint filed by Allegheny County taxpayers.  The taxpayers, invoking the Supreme Court’s decision in Clifton, in which the county’s base year system of assessment was declared unconstitutional as applied, sought a grant of tax credits as a result of alleged overpayments of tax.  The Commonwealth Court held that the prospective remedy of a county-wide reassessment ordered in Clifton was all that was required.  White v. Allegheny County, No. 257 C.D. 2011 (Pa. Commw. Ct. December 8, 2011) (unreported).

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