SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Lackawanna County Commissioners have approved two county real estate tax exemptions for disabled, non-wartime, veterans.
Previously only fully-disabled wartime veterans were eligible for these exemptions because of the verbiage in Title 51 of Pennsylvania’s Military Affairs. This resulted in a lot of non-wartime veterans or their spouses having their properties taken away.
County Veterans Affairs Offices statewide have been fighting to change the verbiage of the Title 51 statute. It now includes those veterans and their spouses who have become 100 percent disabled during non-wartime.
“Veterans and surviving spouses are getting their properties put on tax sales and it shouldn’t be the case because they are getting very minimal money and can’t get the help they need because of wording,” explained Dave Eisele, Directory of Lackawanna County Veteran Affairs.
Veterans and their spouses can contact the Lackawanna County Veterans Affairs Office with any additional questions. County vets can also fill out the application for the exemptions, which take effect on January 1, 2023.
