2011-12 PROPERTY TAX RELIEFReduced casino revenues cut property tax rebates
Bucks County Courier Times
Posted: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 6:06 am
By Joan Hellyer
Staff writer
| 1 commentProperty owners will get less of a credit toward school taxes next year because slots gambling revenues were down this year.
Still, money from the 10 casinos operating across the state will provide some tax relief, according to state officials.
The state will send a combined $612.1 million in gambling funds to school districts throughout the commonwealth this year with money from the Property Tax Relief Fund. The districts will use their allotment to provide qualified property owners with a gambling credit on their tax bill.
Locally, the credits will range from $150 in the Centennial School District to $276 for qualified property owners in the Bristol Township School District, according to state figures.
Centennial’s tax relief amount decreased $21 from its 2010-11 credit. Several other local districts also will have slightly lower credit rates to apply to their respective tax bills, according to state figures.
Each year’s credit depends on the amount of revenue from the casino slots machines, state officials said.
The rebates are down, officials said, because over the past year gambling revenues dropped statewide by 5.2 percent. That’s even though 10 casinos, including Parx Casino in Bensalem, are operating this year, compared to nine casinos at this time last year.
Added to the equation is the number of property owners who qualify for the credit. Most local districts report that more property holders have qualified for tax relief in the next school year compared to 2010-11. Owners of residential and farm properties have to register for the credit through their respective county assessor’s office.
The credit is applied to tax bills districts send out in July.
In Pennsbury, for instance, the school board is expected this week to adopt a budget with no tax increase. The move would mean the owner of the property assessed at the district’s average of $31,324 would be required to pay approximately $4,708 in 2011-12. However, qualified property owners’ bills will be reduced by $232.71, officials said.
The state will send the districts their respective allotments to cover the credits in August and October, officials said.
