. And city officials have a say in the city’s budget and tax rate. Councilmembers Kenyatta Johnson and David Oh, who are appealing their assessments this year, along with Domb, took part in budget negotiations to increase the relief programs in order to offset the impact of the reassessment.To be clear: Elected officials have the same right as any other property owner to appeal their assessments.
Johnson was not happy to learn that the city thought his Point Breeze rowhome and nearby rental property are now valued at a combined $1.2 million, more than double their prior assessments since 2020. To build a successful case before the Board of Revision of Taxes, or BRT, property owners must identify comparable properties to argue that their assessment is an inaccurate outlier.
Oh, a Republican, said he can afford the tax hike resulting from the assessment increase at his home in Southwest Philadelphia, which rose 82% from $154,600 to $281,600. But he said he appealed on principle.in 2017, “and people are not paying that kind of money to live there … I can afford to pay the taxes, but my neighbors can not and should not.”
Oh’s next tax bill will go down if he wins his appeal. However, that won’t directly benefit other properties on his block unless their owners also appealed.