Homeowner tax break likely for 2015 in Lower Macungie
Commissioners have yet to decide how much will be exempt from the tax.
Officials in Lower Macungie for months have talked about their desire to give a break to people who pay taxes on residential properties.
It’s looking more likely that will happen in 2015.
Township commissioners last week continued discussions on implementing a homestead property exemption program similar to that of East Penn School District, which gives homeowners a break on property tax bills for their primary residence.
It’s still not clear how much of a break will be given. Township Manager Bruce Fosselman said details will become clearer during budget discussions in the fall.
Commissioners have discussed exempting up to 50 percent of the median property assessment — the median is about $233,000 — from the property tax. But they’ve also discussed limiting the exemption to the first $100,000 of a property’s assessed value.
Industrial and commercial property owners wouldn’t be able to participate in the program. The idea is to lessen the tax burden on homeowners as opposed to the owners of commercial and industrial property.
Township officials say they would not be permitted to raise the tax rate in a year they approve a homestead exclusion.
The discussion began months after the commissioners decided to bring back a township-imposed property tax for the first time in 11 years. The modest 0.33-mill tax generates about $1 million for the township. (A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.)
The tax translates to a $33 bill for properties assessed at $100,000, $66 for homes assessed at $200,000 and $99 for properties assessed at $300,000.
The township-imposed property tax is separate from the tax bill that township residents receive from the East Penn School District. Any township tax break would only apply to township tax bills.
If the township were to exempt the first $100,000 of assessed value from the tax, people whose homes are assessed at $100,000 would pay nothing and those with higher assessments would see varying degrees of reductions on their tax bills.
Township solicitor Rich Somach has said the exemption cannot exceed half of the median property assessment in the township.
The reduction would mean less revenue for the township, but officials believe some of that loss would be made up in revenue from new commercial and industrial properties that will be taxable in 2015.
The property tax represents a small piece of the township’s revenue to support this year’s $18.6 million spending plan. The largest chunk of revenue — about $5 million — comes from the earned income tax.
