Facilities owned by Pittsburgh-based UPMC are among several properties the city's mayor says should not enjoy their current tax-exempt status, according to a March 28 Public Source report.
Mayor Ed Gainey ran for office on a promise of making UPMC pay its "fair share" and is looking at six of the system's properties to help boost city finances by collecting taxes on them.
"We are here to protect the taxpayers and make sure that everybody is paying their fair share," the mayor said at a news conference.
If all the UPMC and other properties' exemptions are overturned, it is possible to claim five years of back taxes, the report said, possibly netting up to a total of $3.5 million in such taxes for the 26 properties targeted.
UPMC said the city can count on its full participation in fair and equitable programs that include the region's other major nonprofits.
"The parcels identified today have all been previously approved for their tax-exempt status as they support UPMC’s charitable mission of serving our patients, members and communities," UPMC said in a statement.
The move comes after court rulings overturned tax-exempt status at another health system this year. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health had exemption changes made on several hospital properties, partly because of excessive executive pay, the report said.
It is also not the first example of the 40-hospital UPMC system being the target of lawmakers. In January, two Pennsylvania lawmakers accused the system of building a monopoly amid allegations published in a report from the American Economic Liberties Project.