Business Owners Weigh in on Property Taxes

A recent article in The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA, reported on a local initiative to reassess property taxes in Lackawanna County (PA). Several business owners shared their thoughts on the issue, including an executive from TRSA operator member Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply, Jessup, PA.

A referendum on the ballot on Nov. 7 will ask voters to authorize the Lackawanna County commissioners to borrow up to $13 million to reassess all property in Lackawanna County for the first time in nearly 50 years. However, a panel of judges recently heard arguments to remove the question from the ballot or to invalidate the results because the wording is “vague, misleading, ambiguous, distracting and confusing” and thus unconstitutional. The judges have not yet issued a ruling, according to media reports.

Local business owners are conflicted on what the reassessment means for them. About one-third of property owners will pay higher taxes, one-third will pay significantly lower taxes, and one-third will pay about the same, the report said.

P.J. Dempsey, president, Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply, is concerned about the property owners that will have to pay more taxes, the article said. “When businesses are growing, and they’re focusing on growing business instead of cost cutting, they like to have someone clean their aprons and towels for them,” Dempsey said. “If they’re looking for areas to cut costs, they may decide to wash their own.”

To read the full article, click here.