American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Board of Property Assessment, Appeals & Review

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROBERTS, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the Commonwealth Court 1 holding that a public utility’s payment of the tax imposed by the Public Utility Realty Tax Act 2 (PUR-TA) was not in lieu of local real estate taxes pursuant to article VIII, section 4 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, P.S. 3 We conclude that the Commonwealth Court erroneously construed article VIII, section 4 and reverse.

This case requires analysis of the interaction of article VIII, section 4 and PURTA. A clearer understanding of the issues presented will be facilitated by a review of the…