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’s new online tax refund report for December.

Property owners who obtain assessment reductions receive refunds for overpayments retroactive to the date they filed their appeals.

The Mountain City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hazle Township received a $32,673 refund for taxes paid from 2012 through 2015.

The amounts repaid by the township and Hazleton Area School District were not immediately available.

The property’s assessment was reduced from $8.31 million to $6.4 million, or $1.9 million, county records show.

Under its new assessment, Mountain City’s annual combined school, county and local tax payment will be $102,641 based on current tax rates.

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.

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.

The assessment of two office buildings at the site were reduced — 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.

The third property, a 1.3-acre parking lot, will be assessed at $50,000 instead of $52,000.

Ja-Va Inc.’s refunds covered taxes paid for five years, from 2012 through 2016.

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.

Both reductions were obtained through settlements, court records show.

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multiple-year assessment challenges, saying in November these cases would proceed to trial if they are not settled or withdrawn.

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By Jennifer Learn-Andes

jandes@timesleader.com

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.