Harrisburg – March 12, 2024 – Today, State Senator Wayne Fontana said he will soon be introducing a bill to allow municipalities to further incentivize building construction, improvements, or conversions by granting tax abatement for up to 20 years.
“So many of our communities are facing challenging budgets in the coming years,” said Sen. Fontana. “Harrisburg can and should provide the tools local governments needed to spur impactful redevelopment and investment, all without raising taxes.”
In a co-sponsorship memo circulated to senators today, Sen. Fontana noted how his bill would amend the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act (LERTA) by extending the time period allowed for municipalities to grant tax abatement from 10 to 20 years.
The LERTA law was originally passed by the General Assembly in 1977 to provide tax breaks to encourage economic development by abating property taxes on the assessed value of improvements made to existing buildings or land, but the 10-year limit has not been updated in those 47 years.
Sen. Fontana added, “The LERTA program continues to spur development across the commonwealth, as it has over the last four decades. My bill takes a successful program and supercharges it to help address our current needs.”
Sen. Fontana’s co-sponsorship memo can be found online here.