This is supervisory personal property tax assessment work. An employee in this class supervises a staff of technical and clerical personnel engaged in processing, reviewing, and analyzing personal property assets for tax assessment purposes, and maintaining personal property tax records and files. Work includes ensuring routine reviews are performed by staff to uncover non-filers, providing technical guidance to subordinate staff, and ensuring tax returns are reviewed expeditiously and accurately. Interpreting tax codes and determining correct courses of action in processing complicated tax liability appeals are significant aspects of the work. Work is performed under the direction of the Personal Property Assessment Administrator.

ALLOCATING FACTORS:
(The following conditions must be met for a position to be approved for this class.)

1. The work must be performed in the City's Board of Revision of Taxes.
2. The position must supervise personal property evaluators, trainees, and clerical staff engaged in processing, reviewing, and analyzing personal property assets for tax assessment purposes.

• Schedules, assigns and review the work of a staff of evaluators and clerical employees engaged in reviewing, analyzing, and evaluating personal property tax returns for assessment purposes; advises subordinate evaluators on complex tax issues and on the more difficult and unusual assessment cases; assists in the training of technical and clerical personnel.
• Prepares and reviews monthly production reports to maintain production standards; establishes standards for quality and quantity of work performed; provides guidance to subordinate evaluators in resolving technical assessment questions; advises evaluators on taxability of mutual funds and quasi-governmental bonds; researches taxability of personal property; monitors the flow of clerical work; adjusts placement of clerical personnel to expedite the assessment process.
• Confers with superior concerning new methods and procedures for increasing tax revenue; researches and develops means to broaden the tax base by the taxation of personal property; performs sampling examinations to determines feasibility and cost-effectiveness of new procedures in conjunction with the personnel staff; examines appeals, refund requests, and request for exemptions; explains personal property tax and individual assessments to taxpayers and their representatives; reviews, researches, and resolves appeals of tax assessments; prepares allowance documents for appeals; supervises the preparation of regular and special reports; supervises the preparation and mailing of tax returns to taxpayers of record and others who may be required to pay personal property taxes.
• Schedules "call-in" reviews for evaluators; reviews and analyzes results for productivity and cost-effectiveness; reads current publications to keep abreast of new brokerage practices and changes in money flow to stocks, bonds, mortgages, bank deposits, and other investments.
• Confers with owners of personal property or their representatives to explain methods and procedures utilized in making assessments and the review of computer assessment; meets with taxpayers and their representatives to explain property assessment procedures; appraises reported personal property during examination; reviews documentation for appeal cases and refund petitions; makes decisions regarding appeals and refund petitions; confers with data processing personnel concerning new and existing procedures for input and output of data; oversees compilation of computerized mortgage rates; monitors flow of information received concerning estates, inventories, mortgages, and judgments.
• Performs related work as required.

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• the Personal Property Tax Act, related legislation, and relevant case law.
• the techniques of personal property assessment.
• the Internal Revenue Code and the Pennsylvania Income Tax laws as they relate to the taxability of intangible personal property.
• the Pennsylvania Capital Stock Tax Act, Franchise Tax Act, Gross Premiums Tax Act, Branch Bank Act, Limited Partnership Act, and Corporations Act as they relate to the taxability of intangible personal property.
• the reference sources used to determine the value of stock and bonds.
• the current developments in the areas of securities exchanges, decedents' estates, trusts, and business entities.
• the arithmetic procedures used to determine the value of intangible personal property.
• the more common types of personal property with respect to exemption from tax.

• the techniques of personal property assessment.
• the arithmetic computations used in assessing personal property for taxation purposes.

• schedule, assign and review the work of a staff engaged in personal property assessment work.
• determine those factors which influence the value of personal property in relation to tax assessment.
• detect errors in judgment or violation of legal requirements as presented in reports or tax returns.
• resolve complicated personal property taxation issues and problems.
• detect errors in personal property assessments.
• establish effective working relationships with associates, subordinates, government officials, taxpayers and their representatives, and members of the news media.
• communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

EDUCATION

• Completion of an Associate's Degree program at an accredited college or university.

• Three years of personal property assessment experience in a personal property tax assessment program.

• Two years of full performance level personal property assessment experience.

Any equivalent combination of education and experience determined to be acceptable by the Personnel Department that has included the specific experience described above.

NOTE:

Designation as a Certified Pennsylvania Evaluator (CPE) can be substituted for two years of the required education.

NOTE:

A Bachelor's Degree can replace two years of general or specific experience.

PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required of a position in this class.

PAY RANGE: EP21
Class Established:
  CSC - 5/1994 ; Ad Board - 8/1994

PMcG/deb/ps