In May 2020, Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania, Inc. (Goodwill) acquired the building in State College, Pennsylvania, in a high-traffic area that had numerous retail stores in the immediate vicinity. Later...more
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that an exemption to the application of PA Realty Transfer Tax Section (RTT) for no or nominal consideration from a trust under Section 1102-C.3(9.1)1 applies not only to transfers...more
7/16/2024
/ Beneficiaries ,
Department of Revenue ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Living Trust ,
Marital Trusts ,
Partnership Interests ,
Realty Transfer Taxes ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Settlors ,
Transfer of Title ,
Trustees
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that out-of-state online retailers can be held responsible for collecting use tax from their customers without having a physical presence in the state. South Dakota v. Wayfair,...more
6/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Commerce Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Internet Retailers ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Quill ,
Reversal ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SCOTUS ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
Substantial Nexus
A panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that group homes maintained by a nonprofit for persons with intellectual disabilities were not entitled to real estate tax exemptions as charities. ARC Human Services,...more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a taxpayer that did not file post-trial motions waived all issues on appeal. M.C.& P.K. Lees, Inc. v. W.R. Capenos, 215 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 282. The purchaser at a tax...more
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania en banc unanimously held that an amended report filed by a taxpayer could not be considered a petition for a refund of CNI Tax. Quest Diagnostics Venture, LLC v. Commonwealth, No. 782...more
A divided panel of The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a reassessment of property upon the expiration of a KOZ abatement was an unlawful spot assessment. Duke Energy Fayette II, LLC v. Fayette County Board of...more
A panel of The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that attorney’s fees are collectable in a tax sale, notwithstanding that Act 2003-20, which authorized the collection of reasonable attorney’s fees, was retroactive to...more
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that a trial court correctly held that a charitable exemption in Allegheny County begins only on the next assessment day, not when the property was acquired. Global Links v....more
In Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne, Dkt. No. 13-485 (U.S. May 18, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court found that Maryland’s system of personal income taxation violated the nondiscrimination prong of the dormant...more
The substantial volume of tax sale decisions from appellate courts continues. A tax sale was voided where the tax claim bureau failed to take reasonable steps to notify the owner when service was unsuccessful. 777 L.L.P. v....more
The Commonwealth Court en banc held that a tax appeal from an interim assessment dated September 27, 2012 was properly preserved, notwithstanding that the taxpayer did not appeal a subsequent assessment that reflected a tax...more
The Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment (OPA) recently mailed notices to each owner of property listed as tax exempt on the OPA’s records indicating that the owner must file a form to certify that the property...more
The Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment (OPA) has begun mailing notices to each owner of property listed as tax exempt on the OPA’s records indicating that the owner must file a form to certify that the property...more
Continuing a line of recent appellate decisions, a panel of the Commonwealth Court set aside a tax sale because the tax claim bureau failed to note in the file additional efforts that it had made to notify the owner. In re:...more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a tax sale of owner-occupied property was void because of the failure of the sheriff to include a copy of the notice of the tax sale with affidavits filed in the proceeding....more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a taxpayer failed to prove that he was a nonresident of Pennsylvania in 2005. Lust v. Commonwealth, No. 645 F.R. 2011 (Pa Commw. Jan. 9, 2015) (unreported). The taxpayer filed...more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that taxpayers could not be reassessed when they subdivided a parcel into two parcels but retained title. Raup v. Dauphin County Board of Assessment Appeals, No. 237 C.D. 2014 (Pa....more
A panel of a Commonwealth Court concluded that a mixed-use housing project owned by municipality was exempt from real estate tax. Reading Housing Authority v. Board of Assessment Appeals of Berks County, No. 1937 C.D. 2013...more
A divided panel of the Commonwealth Court held that a city was not prohibited from imposing its Business Privilege Tax on the gross receipts of a freight broker. S & H Transport, Inc. v. City of York, No. 165 C. D. 2014 (Pa....more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that portions of a 45-acre tract were entitled to exemption as places of regularly stated religious worship. Four Quarters Interfaith Sanctuary of Earth Religion v. Medford County Board...more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court invalidated a tax sale because the required statutory notice was not given to all owners of a property. In re Consolidated Return of Luzerne County Tax Claim Bureau, Appeal of Jack P....more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that the trial court properly denied a mortgage holder’s petition to set aside the judicial tax sale of a property in Lackawanna County due to alleged improper service of notice and...more
A panel of a Commonwealth Court held that a mortgagee is not an aggrieved party for purposes of standing to take an appeal of the assessment of real property. Mountain Manor Development Company LP v. Monroe County Board of...more
A panel of the Commonwealth Court held that the Westmoreland Tax Claim Bureau had the discretion under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law (RETSL) to allow an owner of a tax delinquent property (Rowe) to redeem the property through...more