ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Democratic and Republican candidates for federal and state offices have hit Allentown hard in recent weeks, trying to give voters a clear choice between themselves and their opponents.
But one thing on city ballots is much less clear for most voters — a referendum on deed-transfer taxes.
The referendum asks Allentown voters whether to remove an almost-30-year-old cap on the city’s deed-transfer tax, but that’s not entirely obvious from reading the question on ballots.
That question reads:
"Shall Section 807(B), Revenue, of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Allentown be amended to allow City Council, by Ordinance, to remove the Deed Transfer Tax?"
Simply put, a yes vote is a vote to let council raise the deed transfer tax. A no vote is a vote to keep the cap in place.
Without much-needed context, voters could interpret the question to mean the city’s deed-transfer tax would be eliminated if the referendum is successful; but passage actually would let Allentown City Council raise the tax.
The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors Association has come out in full force against the referendum.
It has distributed numerous mailers over the past month that urge residents to vote “no” and highlight the question’s ambiguous wording.
In plain English
Lehigh County officials are offering voters a “plain English statement” to better explain the referendum, but confusion remains.
That statement repeats the ballot question before telling voters Allentown’s home-rule charter “is like the city’s constitution; it sets up the rules for city government.”
The statement then tries to clarify the question, but its length — 83 words — somewhat muddies its intent.
“If you vote ‘yes’ on this ballot question, it means that you support removing the deed transfer tax from the list of fees that cannot be raised above their 1996 levels so that city council would have the authority to raise the deed transfer tax above their current level set in 1996.”Lehigh County officials' Plain English statement on Allentown ballot question
“Section 807(B) of the charter currently states that City Council cannot raise the rates of a number of taxes, including the deed transfer tax, above their 1996 levels,” the statement reads.
“If you vote ‘yes’ on this ballot question, it means that you support removing the deed transfer tax from the list of fees that cannot be raised above their 1996 levels so that city council would have the authority to raise the deed transfer tax above their current level set in 1996.”
More simply put, a yes vote is a vote to let council raise the deed transfer tax. A no vote is a vote to keep the cap in place.
Deed transfers on Allentown properties incur a 2% tax, with the city and school district each keeping 0.5%, while the state takes 1%.
The referendum’s approval would not mean an automatic increase; council still would have to pass legislation to raise the deed-transfer tax.
