Wayne County issued the following announcement on May 14.
The Wayne County Commissioners and all 28 municipalities that encompass the county have adopted resolutions extending the discount period for county and municipal property taxes to be paid and also waving penalties if those taxes are paid by the end of 2020.
Under Act 15 of 2020, counties, boroughs and townships were given the power to put measures into place that allowed those paying county and municipal taxes to continue paying the 2 percent discounted rate past the initial May 31 deadline up until August 31. In addition, rather than a penalty rate being owed if taxes aren’t paid by August 31, the face value only will be owed for those wishing to pay their taxes between September 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.
“With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and so many county residents out of work and struggling financially, we decided to enact these measures as a gesture to help those who might not have the money to pay their taxes until a bit later in the year and without penalizing them,” said Brian Smith, chairman of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioners Joe Adams and Jocelyn Cramer said that while the county felt it was the right thing to do, they were confident county municipal leaders would feel the same way.
“While not obligated to adopt the same measures, each and every one of our boroughs and townships recognized that our citizens would be appreciative if we were all on the same page and we all extended this gesture of providing more time and relief for our taxpayers,” Adams said.
“We appreciate that our borough councilmembers and township supervisors followed suit and joined us in this one-time tax relief effort to help our property owners get through these tough times and we all know we will come out stronger when this is all done,” Cramer said. “And we appreciate our tax collectors, too, knowing the added work this will create for them.”
This relief does not include school district property taxes. They are still due at their regular times later this year, though there is pending legislation that, if passed, could change those dates, too.
In addition to changing the due dates for county and municipal taxes, local tax collectors will also be holding office hours at the end of August instead of the end of May. Please contact your local tax collector (whose name and number are on your tax bills) with any questions or concerns about these changes. It is preferable you interact with your tax collector via phone rather than in person.
Original source can be found here.