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<p>Luzerne County government recently returned $48,326 in past real estate tax payments to two businesses because they received assessment reductions, according to the county manager&#8217;s new online tax refund report for December.</p><p>Property owners who obtain assessment reductions receive refunds for overpayments retroactive to the date they filed their appeals.</p><p>The Mountain City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hazle Township received a $32,673 refund for taxes paid from 2012 through 2015.</p><p>The amounts repaid by the township and Hazleton Area School District were not immediately available.</p><p>The property&#8217;s assessment was reduced from $8.31 million to $6.4 million, or $1.9 million, county records show.</p><p>Under its new assessment, Mountain City&#8217;s annual combined school, county and local tax payment will be $102,641 based on current tax rates.</p><p>Mountain City RE LP, affiliated with Phoenix, Arizona-based Altus Group US Inc., had purchased the nursing home on 9.14 acres for $7.8 million in 2014.</p><p>Ja-Va Inc. owns the three remaining properties, all on Laird Street in Plains Township, that were paid a combined $15,654 in county tax refunds, records show.</p><p>The assessment of two office buildings at the site were reduced &#8212; the first on 1.97 acres lowered from $990,000 to $650,000 and the other on 0.87 acres cut from $731,000 to $500,000, records show.</p><p>The third property, a 1.3-acre parking lot, will be assessed at $50,000 instead of $52,000.</p><p>Ja-Va Inc.&#8217;s refunds covered taxes paid for five years, from 2012 through 2016.</p><p>The company must pay a combined $29,243 in school, county and local taxes on the three properties on the new total $1.2 million assessment.</p><p>Both reductions were obtained through settlements, court records show.</p><p>County court officials have been pressing to close out around 70 languishing, multiple-year assessment challenges, saying in November these cases would proceed to trial if they are not settled or withdrawn.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County issues refunds to two companies due to property assessment reductions