In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation to remove the realty transfer tax exemption for certain state agencies, as well as remove certain excluded transactions.
 
Currently, state agencies are exempt from paying realty transfer taxes, unlike regular property transfers between people, where both individuals share the cost. More concerning is that people or businesses transferring property to state agencies must pay all transfer taxes unless the transfer of property is excluded.
 
This incentivizes property transfers to the government, harming small rural communities with large amounts of government-owned land. For instance, Spring Creek Township in Warren County lost potential tax revenue from a 2023 land transfer of 2,195 acres valued at $3,783,103 to the Game Commission without compensation. This means the township cannot use the land for revenue and will have to find other sources. Having lost forever any annual property tax payments, at the very least, these property ownership changes should be treated like any other property transfers that are required to pay realty transfer taxes.
 
My legislation provides that the Game Commission, Department of Natural Resources, and Fish and Boat Commission pay their fair share of realty transfer taxes. It also removes excluded transaction status for land transferred to conservancies and from conservancies to state agencies. This change will ensure transfer tax fairness, somewhat remove incentives for more government landownership, support local economies, attract jobs, and generate revenue for local governments.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. For any questions, contact Isaac Evans at ievans@pasen.gov or 717-787-9684.