U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced that more than 1,900 local governments around the country will receive $514.7 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding for 2019.
"Payments in lieu of taxes are made to local governments to help offset their inability to tax federal property," said Secretary Bernhardt. "These payments are one example of the United States striving to be a good neighbor to local communities. This year's distribution of $514 million to more than 1,900 counties will help small towns pay for critical needs like emergency response, public safety, public schools, housing, social services, and infrastructure."
"I was pleased to hear that 2019 PILT payments are going out today and appreciate Secretary Bernhardt's support of the program," said Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04). "Many counties in the West have over 90% of their land area owned by the federal government, meaning rural communities are deprived of desperately needed tax revenue from those lands. Thankfully, PILT compensates counties for some of this lost revenue and allow local governments to provide critical health, education, road maintenance, and emergency services to their residents and federal lands visitors. Since coming to Congress I have always fought to fully-fund PILT."
PILT payments help local governments carry out such vital services as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations. The payments are made annually for tax-exempt federal lands administered by U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) agencies including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and for federal water projects and some military installations.
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