Pennsylvania Justices Back State School’s Tax Immunity Argument

A state university is immune from a borough’s stormwater charge because it’s a tax, not a fee for service, a divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

West Chester asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision that the levy is a tax West Chester University doesn’t have to pay because it’s a government entity.

“Where a municipality is duty bound to provide a service for the public benefit and in the absence of a voluntary, contractual relationship between itself and those receiving the service, the associated charge is a tax,” Justice P. Kevin Brobson wrote for the ...