Tyler Perry donates $750K to prevent legacy Atlanta citizen displacement
The Atlanta icon made the donation to help provide assistance to low-income seniors in Atlanta
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta icon, philanthropist, and studio owner Tyler Perry has donated $750,000 to help prevent the displacement of legacy Atlanta residents, officials announced on Wednesday.
According to officials, Perry contacted Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to make the donation to help the displacement of senior citizens and to provide assistance to low-income seniors in Atlanta to be used toward property taxes payments.
“Atlanta’s growth and prosperity should not come at the expense of our legacy residents — many of whom have been priced out of their homes in previous years,” said mayor Dickens. “Tyler Perry has been engaged in our ongoing conversations around legacy resident retention, and he told me he wanted to do something to support these efforts. Thanks to his generosity, more Atlantans will be able to remain in the communities they built.”
Officials add the donation will go towards:
- Paying off all back property taxes for every low-income senior in Atlanta. More than 300 low-income seniors currently owe back taxes. The assistance will cover not only City taxes, but back County and school taxes.
- Freezing property taxes for 100 low-income seniors by using funds to pay the difference between present-day property taxes and property tax increases through a pilot program.
Officials point to a rise in property taxes as the main factor in the displacement of legacy residents.
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