Thursday, April 25, 2013
The treasurer's office will stay open late on April 30.
Allegheny County Treasurer John K. Weinstein issued an important reminder Wednesday to Upper St. Clair taxpayers of upcoming due dates for 2013 property taxes. “For the second year in a row, the due dates for county taxes had to be adjusted. I am certain that many taxpayers may not remember that their county property taxes are coming due by months end. In order to save the 2 percent tax discount, taxes must be paid in full and received or postmarked by April 30, 2013," Weinstein stated. On April 30 the treasurer’s office, room 108 in the Allegheny County Courthouse, will be open till 7:30 p.m. in order to collect taxes at the 2 percent discount. Other methods to pay county property taxes include paying in person on other weekdays till 4:30…
Monday, January 21, 2013
Standard deductions go up, but the ceiling for itemized deductions go down in 2013, plus other changes that will affect your taxes this year.
The Internal Revenue Service announced annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2013, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes from the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The tax items for 2013 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following changes. Details on these inflation adjustments and others are contained in Revenue Procedure 2013-15, which will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-5 on Jan. 28, 2013. Other inflation adjusted items were published in October 2012 in Revenue Procedure 2012-41. -News release from the Internal Revenue Service Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook
Friday, January 4, 2013
Michael Carlow, 61, Carlow owes $6.2 million from a 1996 federal conviction on six counts of bank fraud and tax evasion connected to a $31 million check-kiting scheme that closed down City Pride Bakery and damaged the finances of several other businesses.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 late Tuesday night.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 to avert the fiscal cliff late Tuesday night. The vote was 257 to 167. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair) voted in favor of passing the legistlation. He explained his reasoning in this statement: “The process and product are imperfect, but what has been achieved can’t be overlooked. We’ve overcome the impasse to permanently lock in lower tax rates for 99 percent of taxpayers. (The) vote opens the door for work to begin in the next session of Congress on significant cuts in federal spending, meaningful tax reform and pro-growth policies to get our country back on solid fiscal footing.” The bill permanently extends current tax rates for income less than $…
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Dr. Patrick O'Toole said he would like the school board to approve a budget in May instead of June.
Superintendent Patrick O'Toole said he has a "very strong desire" not to raise taxes next year. He told the Upper St. Clair School Board Monday night that the administration has no intention of applying for tax exceptions this year and has a goal of having zero tax increase. The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires school boards to adopt a resolution by the end of January indicating they won't raise taxes over the state index if they plan on not filing for Act 1 exceptions, according to Business Manager Frosina Cordisco. Following O'Toole's recommendation, the school board voted in favor of moving the adoption of the 2013-14 budget up to May instead of June so there would be more time to implement changes. That means they must …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The county's tax rate will be 4.73 mills in 2013.
Allegheny County Council passed a 2013 budget that includes a millage rate decrease. On Tuesday, county officials approved a a $799.4 million budget, reducing the millage rate to 4.73 mills, according to the Tribune Review. The millage was reduced from 2012's rate of 5.69 mills to offset the increase property values stemming from the county's reassessment. Under the reassessment, taxing bodies can't receive more than 5 percent in property tax revenue so as not to use the reassessment as a major tax increase. Under the new tax rate, a resident would pay $473 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said in a statement that he is happy with the approved budget. "(I) am glad that we are able to move into…
Friday, November 2, 2012
Upper St. Clair commissioners don't plan on raising taxes next year, but your new 2013 property assessment may make your wallet feel lighter.
Upper St. Clair's 2013 proposed budget will be presented to the public at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, at the board of commissioners meeting. The preliminary budget reduces the real estate tax rate to 3.9 mills because the 2013 tax base is projected to grow 18 percent due to the Allegheny County reassessments. Just because the millage rate will be lowered doesn't mean that your taxes will go down. If your 2013 assessment is an increase of more than 18 percent, your taxes will likely increase. If your reassessment is an increase of less than 18 percent, your taxes are likely to decrease. Click here to find your new 2013 assessment. Other highlights in the proposed budget document include: Editor's Note: The Upper St. Clair School Board …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The first debate is over. Take our poll and tell us in comments your thoughts after watching the first face-to-face debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.
In short segments that often exceeded the allocated two-minute time periods, the presidential candidates tackled economics, health care, Social Security, education, the role of goverment and the deficit in a debate that sometimes found them saying the same thing in different ways. In a debate moderated by PBS' Jim Lehrer, both Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney talked about domestic issues and how they would tackle them, if elected in November. Obama talked of working to make the middle class stronger, job training through community colleges, keeping tuition low, lowering tax rates especially for manufacturers, boosting American energy production and working to close the deficit. Romney talked…
Monday, October 1, 2012
Residents will be getting their sewage bills from Jordan Tax Service, starting Oct. 1.
Upper St. Clair residents will be getting a new bill, starting in October. For more than five years, residents have been paying for their water and sanitary sewer usage together in one bill sent from Pennsylvania American Water Co. However, as Upper St. Clair Patch reported in April, the water company is discontinuing its billing for sewage nationwide. Residents will now receive their sewage bills from Jordan Tax Service. It is not a new fee; the water bill will decrease by the amount of the sewage bill and the sewage bill will instead come monthly from Jordan Tax Service, which will continue to follow the formula set by the municipality and ALCOSAN based on household water consumption. As another payment option, residents may pay the …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Property owners are permitted to postpone their hearings only once and will have the new appeal heard on Saturdays in late July or early August.
The Allegheny County Board of Property Assessments Appeals and Review is updating the rules with its assessment appeals regarding hearing postponements. The board voted that any hearing that has been postponed by either party will be rescheduled for Saturday dates starting in late July or early August. All of those hearings will be held on the third floor of the County Office Building, located at 542 Forbes Ave. in Pittsburgh. In Upper St. Clair, taxable residential median value as of July 13 is $176,100. The assessments appeals board also re-emphasized its rule permitting only one postponement per property. To postpone an appeal, the property owner must submit the request in writing at least seven days before the scheduled hearing date. …
Oren Spiegler
5:06 am on Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Thank you for publishing this important information, Becky. It serves to illustrate the continuing complexity of a Tax Code which extends to tens of thousands of pages, and which ties the nation's honest taxpayers into knots every year. While some countries have adopted a simple system, including a flat tax, ours is the laughingstock of the world. I have an acquaintance who is an educated … more ›