The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently passed an amendment to the state’s sales tax law that will be of interest to breweries operating taprooms in Pennsylvania. Effective October 1, 2019, breweries must begin collecting sales tax on each individual retail sale to patrons, but on a reduced tax base intended to approximate the amount of tax due at the wholesale level. The change in the law is a compromise measure intended to place breweries and other…

The Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board (“STEB”) has released the Common Level Ratio (“CLR”) real estate valuation factors for 2018.  The common level ratio is the ratio of assessed value to market value used to value properties in a particular county for property tax purposes, and is used for purposes of appealing property tax assessments effective for tax year 2020.  Click here to see the 2018 CLR list.  To determine if your property is currently…

The annual assessment appeal deadline of August 1, 2019 for assessed values effective for tax year January 1, 2020 is quickly approaching for the following Pennsylvania Counties: Adams, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Indiana, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and York. The annual assessment appeal deadline of September 1, 2019 for assessed values effective for tax year January 1, 2020 is on the horizon for the following Pennsylvania Counties:…

On July 26th from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., McNees State and Local Tax team members Randy Varner and Paul Morcom will conduct a webinar for the Pennsylvania Society of Tax and Accounting Professionals.  The webinar will focus on reverse audits and recovering overpaid sales tax.  For more information, go to https://www.pstap.org/professional-education-events/cpe-catalog/?eventid=1389  …

The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Property Assessment has recently begun to send out Notices of Property Market Value for 2020.  If you think your proposed 2020 Market Value is incorrect, you may request an informal review by filing a First Level Review form by May 24, 2019.  If you choose to file a formal appeal, the appeal application must be submitted to the Board of Revision of Taxes on or before October 7, 2019. …

Property owners in Allegheny County have until April 1, 2019 to file assessment appeals this year.  The usual appeal deadline in Allegheny County is March 31.  However, because March 31 falls on a Sunday the deadline is moved to the next business day, or April 1, 2019. If you have any questions about appealing your property in Allegheny County, please contact Paul Morcom (717-237-5364) or Randy Varner (717-237-5464).…

They’re Off and Running….   On January 28-30, 2019 both the House and Senate were back to kick off the 2019/2020 legislative session and wasted no time to introduce bills, which are of interest to tax practitioners. I’ve grouped the legislation by type for ease of reference. As in the movie Groundhog Day, some legislation is back for a second or third round. Corporate Net Income Tax (CNI) The House introduced bills to reduce the…