KOZ meeting sought
The committee on Wednesday unanimously reported out House Bill 2297, introduced by Rep. Cherelle Parker, D-Philadelphia. Daley and Hess signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, along with 17 members from both sides of the aisle. The bill proposes to extend, expand and modify the existing Keystone Opportunity Zone program.
... The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19390435&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6
Recall Pennsylvania state Representative Timothy Mahoney (D-51st) who agreed on WMBS 590 radio program Let's Talk with Bob Foltz (Tuesday, August 28, 2007)that Keystone Opportunity Zones are:
unfair
not uniform according to the PA Constitution
unconstitutional
In our letter (October 8, 2007)
, Rep. Mahoney was asked to at least put forth a piece of legisltation that would forestall any attempts to expand KOZs.
Rep. Mahoney never spoke about KOZs again, even though he made a few appearances on the Let's Talk radio program after the statement.
Host of Let's Talk, Bob Foltz never asked the state legislator about Keystone Opportunity Zones again, either.
We'll have to wait and see whether the board of county commissioners will have any statements regarding an expanision of KOZs in Fayette County.
During campaigning prior to recent elections to the top job in the county, both (Democrat) Commissioner Vincent Vicites and (Democrat) Commissioner (now Chairman) Vincent Zapotosky made separate statements that KOZs for residential housing weren't fair.
(Republican) Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink voted against designations for KOEZ back when taking office for business-related projects.
Both Commissioners Vicites and Zimmerlink voted against a request to alter zoning on property in Springhill township.
Neither Vicites or Zimmerlink presented any resolutions which would have voided or revoked past KOZs for particularly those properties in the county which contain residential housing.
Now is their chance to prevent any such expansion to apply to any properties in the county which already are designated KOZs, particularly the one in Springhill Township which included plans a few years back for hundreds of houses on the property. Houses which would range in price from $200,000 to $500,000.
Since this recent legislation will be up for a House vote soon, before the state legislature has completely "reformed" local school property taxes, it would be obscene and unacceptable for any one of our state legislators to authorize an expansion of KOZs.
How can any of them return to the district they serve voting for tax freedom for some to continue for another 10 or 12 or 15 years while tax sales are ongoing every single year for houses and business property in the area.
(Net the Truth Online)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Mahoney People's Agenda Excludes Unfair Tax Exemptions Elimination
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/02/mahoney-peoples-agenda-excludes-unfair.html
KOZ meeting sought
Herald Standard Local briefs
03/14/2008
Updated 03/13/2008 06:15:19 PM EDT
Moving rapidly on the governor's economic stimulus strategy, state Rep. Peter J. Daley, chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and Rep. Dick Hess, R- Bedford, minority chairman, called an expedited meeting of the committee to extend the life of the state's Keystone Opportunity Zone tax abatement law.
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Dennis Yablonsky, the state secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, told the committee that 11 substantial economic development projects statewide were awaiting word on whether the KOZ program would be extended for another 10 years. The Rendell administration is trying to fast track a variety of new or renewed economic incentives to counter the slowing national economy's impact on the state.
"The current KOZs have created and retained thousands of jobs and attracted billions of dollars in capital investments, and the continuation of the program is critical to our ability to successfully compete for job-creating projects with other states," said Daley, D-California. "This revision of the current program will be more appealing to businesses and continue to stimulate and revitalize communities while creating jobs."
The committee on Wednesday unanimously reported out House Bill 2297, introduced by Rep. Cherelle Parker, D-Philadelphia. Daley and Hess signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, along with 17 members from both sides of the aisle. The bill proposes to extend, expand and modify the existing Keystone Opportunity Zone program.
The first part of the proposed legislation would authorize local municipalities and school districts to extend expiration dates of existing undeveloped property within KOZs. It would allow a local option to choose a seven-year extension for the subzone or grant a seven-year extension in which zone benefits would not accrue until a company locates within the zone, at which point zone benefits would be in effect for 10 years from the dates of occupancy.
The bill also would eliminate the sales factor from the KOZ apportionment formula. Because most sales from facilities in a KOZ are to customers not likely to be in a KOZ, current law unintentionally reduces the overall KOZ corporate tax advantage. The revision would improve the fairness and attractiveness of the program.
Parker's bill also would authorize the swap of properties less favorable for development within a zone and permit counties with no existing sub-zones to designate, with approval of local government and school districts, the designation of up to 300 acres of new sub-zones. Seven counties that never have participated would be permitted to designate a KOZ.
The last portion of the bill would grant the sales and use tax exception for all building materials used in a KOZ. The revision would expand the sales tax exemption for building machinery and equipment to include construction materials used to construct a qualified building within a KOZ
The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19390435&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6
State Representative Timothy Mahoney website and contact info
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?districtnumber=51
http://www.pahouse.com/Mahoney/
My website concerning Keystone Opportunity Zones non-uniformity
http://dirtline.tripod.com/wakeup/
Update: Letter to Rep. Timothy Mahoney
http://dirtline.tripod.com/wakeup/id22.html
Related
Tax free homes question for county commissioner candidates
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/tax-free-homes-question-for-county.html
Unequal taxation are KOZs
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/unequal-taxation-are-kozs.html
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