Wilkinsburg couple expected at City-County Building for lawsuit over 'Newcomer Tax'
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A couple challenging Allegheny County over property taxes will be at the City-County Building today.
Their situation can be difficult for people to wrap their heads around.
When you buy a home in Allegheny County, thinking you're going to pay a certain amount in taxes, and then a year later, you find out your taxes have doubled - or more.
It's called the "Newcomer Tax" and it's being described as a sucker punch for some new homeowners.
That's the case for Shaq and Maddy, a couple who bought a two-story home in Wilkinsburg for $200,000 before the pandemic and at the time the assessment came in at around $80,000.
Then, a year later, they got a letter in the mail telling them their taxes had increased from $3,500 to close to $9,000. They discovered their tax payments are now double or triple their neighbors.
They're disappointed because they love the neighborhood but they have filed a lawsuit.
"It was also affordable, but it was close to the city, close to lots of parts of the city, CMU, the hospitals he would have to commute to, but it felt very much like a neighborhood," Maddy said. "Had we known, it probably would have changed our mind about buying a house. We probably would have just rented or figured something else out."
Mike Suley, an assessment consultant is involved in the lawsuit the couple filed against Allegheny County.
He calls this the blame game because the county government blames the school districts and vice versa.
"Allegheny County, last year made $4.2 million from the 'newcomer tax' and Allegheny County does nothing, Allegheny County is being rewarded for having bad assessments," he said.
The tax began in 2001.
The couple is expected to be at the City-County Building today and we'll have the latest as the day progresses.
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