WE NEED OUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TO TELL US ABOUT THE HB 76 AND SB 76 PROPERTY SCHOOL TAX RELIEF BILLTODAY. Here is information from another district just printed yesterday. Why are we kept in the dark when this could mean more money in our pockets and being able to stay in our homes after retirement!!!!! Contact them today your Senator and Representative from PA and ask them what this is all about!!! Do it today! Perry Wiltrout 2 Huge crowd turns out for property tax forum 15 Comments Posted: Friday, September 13, 2013 11:00 am | Updated: 3:42 pm, Fri Sep 13, 2013. by Gary Weckselblatt staff writer About 350 showed up Thursday night to hear about the merits of legislation to fund schools in ways other than property taxes. State Rep. Tina Davis, D-141, Bristol, set up the town hall to help inform constituents who have complained to her that the taxes on their homes have escalated to a point they can no longer afford. “Most of the problems I deal with almost daily are with someone who can’t pay their property taxes,” Davis said. “People are being forced to forgo their prescriptions to pay their tax bill. I don’t believe anyone deserves to have that worry at this time of life.” House Bill 76, The Property Tax Independence Act, would replace the $10.4 billion collected every year in school property taxes with new revenue generated by increases in sales and personal income taxes. Berks County resident David Baldinger, leader of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations, which represents 81 local taxpayer advocacy groups, explained the bill that he said “will drive a stake through” the property tax. “Harrisburg didn’t write this legislation,” he said. “We have been given a unique opportunity to craft a law for the taxpayers. This is our bill, the peoples’ bill.” Baldinger said 10,000 people each year lose their homes because of property taxes. He called the number “unconscionable.” “How’s that gambling relief working out for you? ... This bill is a no-brainer.” Mark Miller doesn’t think so. The vice president of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and a school board member for Centennial schools, Miller agreed with the audience that “you cannot continue to pay property taxes at the same rate you’ve been paying. But we have to come at it in a different way.” “I do not believe HB 76 is the answer.” He’s for taxing Pennsylvania businesses “earning fortunes and they pay their taxes to another state.” He also wants an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale gas. “The gas is in our ground,” he said. “They’re not going to be drilling for it in Kentucky.” Miller is also pushing for a “fair funding formula for education. ... Pennsylvania is one of three states that do not have one,” he said. The commonwealth has been unsuccessfully waging the property tax debate for decades. If legislation being proposed in the House and Senate is approved, the sales tax would rise from 6 cents on a dollar to 7 cents. The personal income tax would go from 3.07 cents for every dollar earned to 4.34 cents. The legislation would use existing gambling revenues to help replace the $10.4 billion that is generated by school property taxes. Additionally, things that aren’t now taxed — like candy and gum, newspapers, textbooks, personal care services, basic TV subscriptions, and theater tickets — would be added to the sales tax levy. If approved, proponents contend someone would have to spend $70,000 on the newly taxed items to equal the elimination of a $5,000 school property tax bill — and experience a tax increase. State Rep. Jim Cox, R-129, of Berks County, put together the legislation, which has 91 co-sponsors, including Davis, Paul Clymer, R-145, Perkasie; John Galloway, D-140, Falls; and Bob Godshall, R-53, Hatfield. In the companion legislation in the Senate, sponsored by state Sen. David Argall, R-29, Schuylkill County, there are 23 co-sponsors, including Bob Mensch, R-24, Quakertown. Baldinger said the House co-sponsors breakdown is 58 Republican, 33 Democrat. In the Senate, it’s 13 Republican, 10 Democrat. “You don’t see any legislation in Harrisburg with that kind of bipartisan support,” he said. Bob and Diane White attended the meeting because the $6,000 tax bill on their Bristol home has forced them to take out a reverse mortgage, they said. “You can’t earn any money with interest rates so low,” Diane said. “And our mutual funds are running out.” John Brochon of Croydon said it takes more than two of his Social Security checks to pay his property tax bill. “It’s a terrible thing,” he said. “Something has to be done.”
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 16:25:53 +0000
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