This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
by Ann Marie Awad for NewsWorks
A new Pew study released today finds that Philadelphia’s level of delinquent property taxes is above the national average. It estimates that the city would be reasonably able to collect 30 percent of it, but that if the city ramped up collection efforts, it may be able to collect as much as half.
The city of Philadelphia is owed more than $500 million in unpaid property taxes and late penalties. Thirty percent of that — the Pew study’s estimate of the collectable portion — would be $155 million.
But why only 30 percent?
Thomas Ginsberg, an officer at Pew, says Philadelphia is one of the only counties in the state without a clear collections timetable for property taxes. The law gives the city the authority to set its own deadlines, which it hasn’t done. The law has been on the books since 1923.