Grade inflation may be rampant in higher education (everybody gets an A at Harvard?) but not at the Council on State Taxation.  Known as “COST,” this trade organization/lobbying group represents businesses concerned about state tax issues.  It recently issued a … Read more

Local privilege license taxes will be history as of July 1, 2015.   I’ve blogged about their repeal here and here, but lots of interesting questions continue to fill my email inbox.  Here are more Q&A’s about the disappearance of these … Read more

Following up on Frayda Bluestein’s excellent post about the appointment of new city and county attorneys, I offer answers to frequently asked questions about the proper role of a local government attorney. As always, my advice is guided by the … Read more

What does it mean for local government tax collectors when debtors surrender property in bankruptcy proceedings? Great question! Let’s see what the band Cheap Trick has to say on this topic:   Mommy’s alright, Daddy’s alright, they just seem a … Read more

The tax status of real and personal property owned or used by charitable non-profit organizations can get complicated when there are multiple private and public entities involved with the property.  Is property exempt if it is owned by a non-profit organization … Read more

Happy Birthday, Tag & Tax Together!  What, you haven’t bought a present yet? Well, you best get moving, because September 1 will mark the first birthday of the new taxation system for registered motor vehicles (“RMVs”) known informally as Tag … Read more

[UPDATE:  This post was edited in late August 2014 to reflect the General Assembly’s ratification of S734, which among other actions permits non-attorneys to represent business entities before the Property Tax Commission.] The county board of equalization and review, often called “the … Read more

If you could change one provision in the Machinery Act, which would it be?  Near the top of my list would be standardizing the deadline for property tax appeals to county boards of equalization and review (“BOERs”). The Machinery Act … Read more

[Please see this more recent post for updates on Cynthia Baldwin’s role in the PSU scandal.] Most of the headlines relating to the Pennsylvania State University (“PSU”) child abuse scandal focused on the connections between convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky … Read more

The General Assembly’s decision to eliminate local privilege licenses in S.L. 2014-3 left many unanswered questions.  I tackled some of the big ones in my first blog post on the new law last month. Today I address a few more privilege license … Read more