Summary: With the state budget deadline on the horizon, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would expand the commonwealth’s gross receipts tax (GRT) to encompass digital advertising revenue. The proceeds of the tax would fund additional school property tax relief for seniors.
Allegheny County increased property taxes for 2025. The City of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) increased property taxes for 2026. The taxing bodies are considering a measure that could divert close to $17 million a year of not-yet-realized incremental property taxes to pay off bonds aimed at revitalizing downtown Pittsburgh.
A Pennsylvania legislative proposal to tax digital advertising to fund additional school property tax relief for seniors is not only fraught with legal peril but would harm businesses and stands to raise prices for consumers, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
“When is enough enough?”
That’s the question a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says elected officials need to be asking about the latest plan — in a long-running series of plans — to divert property taxes to subsidize development, this time primarily in downtown Pittsburgh.
