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A. Requests for tax exemption as herein provided shall be made in writing on a form provided by the City at the time a building permit is secured, but in no event shall a request for tax exemption be accepted any later than six months after the Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals has issued their assessment on the new construction or improvement.
B. The Community Development Department shall forward a copy of the Request for Exemption to the Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals.
C. The Board shall, after the new construction or improvement to deteriorated property is completed, assess the new construction or assess the improvement separately and calculate the amount of the assessment eligible for tax exemption in accordance with the limits established by the City and notify the taxpayer and the City of the reassessment and the amount of the assessment eligible for exemption. All abatements shall begin following notification to the City from the Board of an increase in the assessment attributable to the improvement or the new construction. Appeals from the reassessment in the amounts determined to be eligible for the exemption may be taken by the taxpayer or the City as provided by law.
D. The assessment attributable to the cost of new construction or improvements to deteriorated property to be exempted and the schedule of taxes exempted existing at the time of the initial request for tax exemption, shall be applicable to that exemption request, and subsequent amendments to this Part, if any, shall not apply to requests initiated prior to their adoption.
E. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Part, no request for tax exemption under this Part shall be granted concerning any deteriorated property until all past due real estate taxes, together with accrued penalties and/or interest, which have been returned to the Berks County Tax Claim Bureau upon that property have been paid in full and satisfactory evidence thereof has been provided to the Finance Department of the City. All requests shall be denied irrevocably if such taxes, penalties and interest are not paid and satisfactory evidence thereof provided prior to six months after the Berks County Board of Assessment Appeals has issued their assessment on the new construction or improvement.
In the event that the taxpayer shall receive, by whatever means, a reduced assessment with regard to part or all of his, her or its property which is currently the subject of the tax exemption provided in this Part, such reduced assessment shall be applied proportionately to the portion of the assessed value which is subject to a tax exemption and the portion of the assessed value which is not subject to a tax exemption, and shall result in a reduction of tax exemption which was initially granted for purposes of the number of exemption years still remaining on the exemption schedule.
The Finance Department of the City shall have the authority for administering and monitoring the tax exemption program covered by this Part and shall have the authority to deny any and all tax exemption requests when they do not meet or comply with the terms of this Part.