Allentown City Council approves putting deed transfer tax question on November ballot
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Allentown City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize the Lehigh County Board of Elections to place a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot asking voters to amend the home rule charter to delete the deed transfer tax from the section which regulates the tax rate.
That would mean, if voters were to approve the amendment, the administration and city council would have the authority to raise the deed transfer tax, which is currently assessed at 2%, with 1% going to the state and the other 1% split between the city and the school district.
Councilman Santo Napoli said that if the city were to raise the tax by 0.5%, it would raise about $2.3 million a year to enable the city to have a reliable source of revenue to get work done in the city.
“Our housing stock has been neglected for decades and we really are in a position now where we really have to do something,” Napoli said. “I believe this is an opportunity to really address the housing issues in this city and to really help people when it comes to blighted properties."
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/allentown-city-council-approves-putting-deed-transfer-tax-question-on-november-ballot/article_0de6c64a-4a24-11ef-8cc1-8f5a1fbabbb8.html