On property, UPMC spends big and is taxed little

The Pittsburgh region's leading healthcare provider, UPMC, which has $9.6 billion in annual revenue, 56,000 employees and 20 hospitals, also owns 656 acres of property in Allegheny County worth $1.6 billion. It is the county's largest property owner by value and, because of UPMC's nonprofit status, 86 percent of those holdings are tax-exempt. The hospital network's real estate portfolio got close examination in a series of stories by the Post-Gazette. The series revealed that the corporation's charitable status saves it from paying $42 million in property taxes to municipalities, school districts and the county.