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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Ann
Collis |
State Rep. Richard T.
Grucela |
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House Finance Committee advances Grucela bill that would exempt all disabled veterans from property taxes
HARRISBURG, Oct. 24 – The House Finance Committee unanimously approved a bill (H.B. 211) today that would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow the state to exempt all honorably discharged, permanently disabled veterans from residential property taxes.
The bill’s prime sponsor, state Rep. Rich Grucela, D-Northampton, said current law requires the State Veterans’ Commission to determine on a case-by-case basis if a disabled veteran qualifies for a property tax exemption based on his or her financial need.
“The lives of these men and women were forever changed when they returned home from their service,” Grucela said. “Unfortunately, the most drastic change may have been the ability to work and produce an income. If a soldier was injured protecting our country, it should be our responsibility to help him or her live a dignified life, and that includes removing burdensome taxes like property taxes.
“As we near Veterans Day, I want to thank the members of the House Finance Committee for remembering the invaluable service these men and women gave to their country, and for supporting a measure that would make a significant contribution to their quality of life.”
As chairman of the House Subcommittee on Military and Veterans Facilities, Grucela has sought to bring additional attention to the bill and help advance it through the legislature.
Grucela explained that Article VIII of the Pennsylvania Constitution requires state and local taxes to be levied uniformly on all groups and classes of taxpayers. Because of this uniformity clause, granting disabled veterans, as a group, exemption from the property tax would require a constitutional amendment similar to the amendment voters approved in 1997 that allows school districts and municipalities to exclude a portion of the assessed value of residential, or “homestead,” property from real estate taxes.
The committee also approved a bill today (H.B. 1947) that would propose a necessary amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution and grant authority to the General Assembly to exempt the full value of all homesteads and farmsteads from property taxes.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, there are 1.11 million veterans in the Commonwealth. There are 7,256 permanently disabled veterans in Pennsylvania.
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