A Pennsylvania appeals court has given the green light to Delaware County school districts to start taxing land used for billboards, writes Harold Brubaker for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The appeals court’s opinion upheld the tax exemption for both billboards and the structures that support them. But it said that the assessed value of the land where the sign is placed should also be reflected by the rent paid.

This overturns the property-tax exemption for billboards in counties outside Philadelphia.

The tax case was brought by the Chester-Upland and Chichester school districts in an attempt to increase the assessment of the land used for billboards, as the rental income could raise the land’s value.

The decision is seen by some real estate attorneys as creating a slippery slope that could lead to the cancelation of many other longstanding exemptions.

Read more about the court’s decision in the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.