Duties performed by the BRT include:

• Hearing Appeals and rendering decisions for Appeals of Market Value, click HERE for more information.  Non-profit Exemption, click HERE for more information.
  
  
• Hearing appeals and rendering decisions in Condemnation matters, when sitting as a Board of Viewers. Call (215) 686-4333 for more information.
  
  

For information on other City Agencies please go to the Links page.


 History of the Board of Revision of Taxes:

The Board of Revision of Taxes was established pursuant to the Consolidation Act of 1854 and charged with the function of hearing appeals on real property valuations and correcting errors and inequities in those values. The Board was first composed of the City Commissioners, the City Treasurer and the Receiver of Taxes.  In 1865, two appointees of the Court of Common Pleas were substituted for the Treasurer and the Receiver, and the Commissioners' participation was limited to their senior member only.

In 1867, Pennsylvania adopted a new law that resulted in the City Commissioner being removed from the Board, resulting in the Board consisting of three Court appointees. The same Act transferred powers regarding property valuation procedures and the appointment of assessors from the City Commissioners to the Board.

A law enacted in 1937 increased the Board’s membership to seven individuals. In addition, they were assigned the function of the then-abolished Board of View, which determines compensation to owners whose property is taken for public purposes.

This law abolished the existing Board and assessors and provided that the seven members of the new Board would be appointed by the Judges of the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court for six-year overlapping terms. A 1939 law repealed all previous acts relating to the Board of Revision of Taxes and assessors within the County of Philadelphia.

In 1964, a new law reestablished the Board of View in Philadelphia, providing that the members of the Board of Revision of Taxes may be appointed to the separate Board of View. Under this act, the Board of Judges of the Philadelphia Courts of Common Pleas appointed the then seven members of the city Board of Revision of Taxes, plus two others, as members of a separate Board of View.

As of the passing of a referendum on May 18, 2010, the Board of Revision of Taxes had been abolished and its functions split between two new entities, the Office of Property Assessment and the Board of Property Assessment Appeals; but as of a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on September 20, 2010 the BRT was alowed to continue to hear and rule on property assessment appeals only.


 The Department is administered by Board Members:

Hon. Alan K. Silberstein Chairman [Close] Alan K. Silberstein is President Judge Emeritus of the Philadelphia Municipal Court. He is a graduate of Temple University School of Law. After graduation, he first entered into private practice, and later became a partner in the law firm of Herman, Bayer, and Silberstein. He was elected Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court in 1976. In 1988, he became President Judge and served in that capacity until 1999. Judge Silberstein is one of only two honorary members in the American Society of Appraisers. He is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award, as well as several other awards including the John Peter Zenger Award, the Distinguished Service Award from the Ronald Bruce Nipon Association, Community Services Awards from Pennsylvania Development Disabilities Council, Big Sisters of Philadelphia, Inc., United States Office of Personnel Management, Tau Epsilon Rho Law Society, and the Chapel of the Four Chaplains. Judge Silberstein joined the Board of Revision of Taxes in 2007 Howard M. Goldsmith, Esquire Vice Chairman [Close] Mr. Goldsmith graduated from Ryder University where he majored in business and minored in real estate and was a real estate sales agent prior to attending law school. After graduating from Dickinson School of Law, he was in private practice. In addition to his experience in handling general real estate matters, valuation of real estate has been an integral part of his domestic relations practice. He is a past president of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Sections and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Robert N. C. Nix III, Esq. Secretary [Close] Robert Nix III has over 20 years of experience as board member for a number of organizations in the Philadelphia area including the Philadelphia Art Commission, the Philadelphia Sports Congress, and the Mann Center for The Performing Arts.  The President of the Fairmount Park Commission and former President and CEO of William Penn Bank, Mr. Nix currently chairs the Condemnation Committee and Exemption Committee for the Board of Revision of Taxes. Hon. Russell M. Nigro Member Anthony Lewis Jr. Member [Close] Anthony Lewis is a housing advocate. He is the Managing Director of the Housing Association of Delaware Valley, the nation’s oldest housing advocacy agency (1909). He serves as a Commissioner on the City of Philadelphia’s Fair Housing Commission where he hears cases of unfair rental practices and disputes between landlords and tenants. He also served as Board member of the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustments. At the Housing Association of Delaware Valley he created the Housing Association Reinvestment Corporation, the Housing Association Information Program, and the Public Housing Tenant Leadership and Tenant Management Training Program. He also conducted numerous studies and published reports on housing issues in Philadelphia. Mr. Lewis co-founded the Housing Consortium for Disabled Individuals (HCDI) the Philadelphia Revitalization and Education Program (PREP), the Diversity Apprenticeship Program (DAP), and the Lancaster Avenue Redevelopment Corporation. He is currently managing partner of PREP and DAP. Mr. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from Knoxville College, in Knoxville, Tennessee and has done graduate studies in Administration at Antioch University. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Knoxville College (TN); Chairman, Board of Directors, Lancaster Avenue Redevelopment Corporation; and Executive Board, Life Member, Knoxville College National Alumni Association Mr. Lewis has received more than fifty awards in recognition of his service and contributions, including citations from two governors, the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives, the City Council of Philadelphia, and three Mayors of Philadelphia. Barbara A. Capozzi, Esq. Member Eugene P. Davey Member