This dispute involved the subsurface rights to a property in Rush Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was asked to determine whether a 1935 tax sale resulted in the transferring of only the surface rights to the property. The Supreme Court agreed with the Superior Court and upheld the “title wash” tax sale principle, meaning the tax sale resulted in the transfer of the entire property, not merely the surface rights.
Tag: tax assessment
In this tax assessment appeal out of Alleghany County, the Commonwealth Court was asked to weigh in on the level of due diligence a party must show to warrant a nunc pro tunc appeal well after the appeal deadline has passed.
In this case the Pennsylvania Supreme Court provided more clarity as to what may be considered in the valuation of a property with environmental damage for tax purposes. Specifically, the court held that the hypothetical ways a property can be used by potential buyers is a permissible consideration, as are any environmental remediation agreements and the environmental stigma associated with the property due to the damage.
