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An Ordinance of the Allegheny County Council amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 4, entitled "Finances," by creating a new Chapter 280, entitled "Housing Choice Voucher Program" and a new §280-1 in order to establish a mechanism for recovering taxes owed by landlords participating in the program.
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WHEREAS, housing choice vouchers allow very low-income families to choose and lease or purchase safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned rental housing; and
WHEREAS, landlords participating in the housing choice program receive part of their total rental payments from their tenants, and part from dedicated federal funding that passes through the various governmental entities that administer the program, including the Allegheny County Housing Authority; and
WHEREAS, the full payment of all taxpayers' property taxes is necessary to the orderly administration of the County government, vital to the continuation of needed services by the County government, and central to the maintenance of equity among the burdens borne by the County's taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, various programs available within the County, including the Homestead Property Exclusion Program, provide for an annual exemption from taxation of a portion of the value of an owner's property or abatement of a taxpayers' tax bill;
WHEREAS, many of these exemption and abatement programs have eligibility requirements that must be met, such as the homestead exemption requirements that the property subject to the exemption must be the taxpayer's primary residence and not rented to another individual; and
WHEREAS, owners of multiple properties, such as landlords, may be particularly in danger of paying less than their full tax bill when abatements or exemptions are incorrectly applied to their properties, whether intentionally or accidentally; and
WHEREAS, the effect of this inappropriately lessened tax burden is particularly pernic...
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