Harsco Corp. v. City of Pittsburgh

OPINION

McDermott, justice.

Appellant, Harsco Corporation (Harsco), appeals from an order of the Commonwealth Court which affirmed an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. The latter court had refused appellant’s request for a refund of business privilege taxes paid to appellee, the City of Pittsburgh, for the years 1979 through 1981.

The germane facts of this case are as follows. During the tax years in question Harsco conducted a business known as metal recovery, which was designed to recover iron particles from molten slag. Slag is a necessary waste product of steelmaking,…