Oct. 22, 2019
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation, authored by Rep. Chris Quinn (R-Delaware) to exclude volunteer service providers from the Pennsylvania realty transfer tax.
Under current law, if a volunteer service provider, such as a fire company, purchases or acquires new property from a private entity, the volunteer service provider is liable to the state for a 1% realty transfer tax.
House Bill 732 would extend the current exemption to any real estate transfer to or by a volunteer service organization, ultimately supporting their means to further serve the community.
“Our volunteer firefighters, first responders and emergency medical service providers do so much for our community, it only makes sense to support these brave men and women so they can continue protecting our families,” said Quinn.
Quinn said he wrote the bill after he was approached by the Edgmont Fire Company regarding a property purchase for a new station.
“The project was becoming cost prohibitive due to the mounting taxes and fees, so this approach was brought to my attention,” Quinn said. “We should help these critical organizations better serve our communities in any way we can, and I hope this bill, if ultimately signed into law, will help in some small way.”
If signed into law, House Bill 732 would be retroactive to the beginning of 2019, meaning Edgmont would be able to recover the costs it paid in realty transfer taxes.
House Bill 732 now awaits consideration in the state Senate.
Representative Chris Quinn
168th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Rene Morrow
717.260.6273
rmorrow@pahousegop.com
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