Locallow impact · 4/10substantive030560

Council proposed time limit for tax examinations to 3 years, except in cases of fraud or understatement.

Official:Amending Chapter 19-500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Taxes and Rents--General," by providing for time limitations on examinations and assessments, under certain terms and conditions.

Sponsor: Councilmember Reynolds Brown

Introduced: September 11, 2003

: Committee on Finance

finance taxation

No one voted on this bill

This bill was introduced in the 2000–2003 Council term and when that term ran out. The public record shows no committee vote and no floor vote at any stage, so no member of Council ever went on record for or against it.

That is not unusual here. Of the 8,465 bills introduced between 2000 and 2025, 1,624 lapsed without a single recorded vote. Ninety percent of bills that became law carry a roll call. Three percent of lapsed bills do. How this works.

Plain-Language Summary

This bill sets a time limit for tax examinations by the Revenue Commissioner, limiting them to 3 years unless there's evidence of fraud or understatement.

What This Bill Does

AI-written. Every figure is checked against the bill text.

Limits tax examinations by the Revenue Commissioner to 3 years, unless evidence of fraud or understatement exists, in which case the examination is limited to 6 years.
Defines "substantial understatement" as an understatement in tax for the year that exceeds 20% of the tax required to be shown on the return.
Requires tax returns to include an annual wage tax reconciliation or other annual trust tax reconciliation.
Exempts tax examinations from time limitations in cases where the taxpayer failed to file a tax return or committed fraud.