Lawmakers rally for tax reform
State Rep. Doyle Heffley speaks out on tax reform at a rally in Harrisburg Monday. At left is Sen. Dave Argall, who has sponsored legislation to eliminate property tax. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
For Pennsylvania lawmakers who see the state’s rising property taxes as an intolerable burden on the state’s fixed-income residents, Monday was a day to try to rally support for repealing the taxes.
It was also a day to lament the previous efforts that have failed.
A number of state senators and representatives, including a full contingent from the Times News coverage area, took part in a rally Monday on the Capitol rotunda steps calling on their colleagues to pass legislation that would do away with property taxes in the state and find alternate sources to fund education.
Several methods have been suggested over the years for replacing the property tax source, such as a combination of income and sales tax hikes. But education sector advocates have generally opposed such moves because property taxes provide a revenue stream that reliably increases every year.
“Many of us feel like Bill Murray here in the Capitol, living and reliving ‘Groundhog Day,’ every single day on this issue,” state Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, said. “When I tell people I want to see action on this issue, it isn’t lip service. It is the single most important issue for the people of York County and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Phillips-Hill recalled that in 2015, a property tax elimination bill nearly passed in the Senate, failing on a tie vote. In the years since, new proposals have continued to arise, but none have made it even that far.
“The school property tax is the single most unfair tax in our commonwealth,” she said. “And unlike the income or sales tax, it is in no way based on one’s ability to pay. … And … we see that tragic news of homeowners losing their homes because they just can’t pay their taxes. That home could be paid off, but because of regressive school property taxes, they’re losing their homes.”
Carbon hit hard
Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, who noted that his county has been hit particularly hard by high property taxes, argued that an array of powerful organizations were lined up to oppose any legislation that would do away with the tax.
“Let me tell you, almost every church organization in the state of Pennsylvania is opposed to property tax elimination,” he said. “Go to your churches and ask them why.”
He said more than 80 synods across the state have come out against property tax elimination.
While he encourages people to go to church, he said people should question the stance of central organizations.
Heffley said people think special interest groups are preventing tax reform, but pressure is coming from other organizations.
“Almost every organized labor (union) in the state of Pennsylvania is opposed to property tax elimination, the chamber, every organization,” he said. He mentioned Service Employees International Union and AFSCME public employees union.
“Check to see where the money’s going that you’re sending to these organizations, because it’s coming, and they’re using it against us because we’re supporting the belief that we can eliminate property taxes.”
Heffley wants to see total tax elimination but will accept a step plan to make it happen.
“I’d love to see House Bill 76 pass, but we’ll take anything and everything that will eliminate property taxes,” he said.
He said it will take a balance between personal income tax, sales tax and earned income tax.
“It needs to be more equitable,” Heffley said. “It’s a tax shift. If someone is paying less, somebody is going to be paying more. Every time you shift, you have winners and losers.”
Jack Rader, R-Monroe, also favors complete property tax elimination.
“For our area, tax reform is the number one issue,” Rader said. “It’s important to put the spotlight on it in Harrisburg. We live it too. We pay the same property tax. It’s such an issue in our area that the rest of the state should look at it.”
Other lawmakers representing the Northeast attended the rally including state Sen. Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill/Berks; Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe/Northampton; Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Carbon/Schuylkill; and Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe.
Argall said, “At the rally, Rep. Heffley and Sen. Scavello and I spoke to hundreds of people from all over Pennsylvania who share this common goal: We want to see this rotten school property tax eliminated. We need to find a better way to fund our public schools than an archaic and unfair tax structure from the 1600s.
“After the defeat of this bill in a prior Senate session by a vote of 25-24, we need to remember that we need 102 votes in the House, 26 votes in the Senate, and the governor to get this done. It’s never going to be easy, but I refuse to give up,” Argall said.
State Sen. John Yudichak, I-Luzerne/Carbon, was not able to attend the rally, but has been supportive of the push for reform. “The push for Senate Bill 76 is building momentum to find a permanent solution to the antiquated and unfair property tax system in Pennsylvania.”
Property tax needs to go
Reassessments and the consequent rise in property taxes can serve as a disincentive to make improvements to one’s home, Rep. Mark Gillen, R-Berks/Lancaster, argued. He said that eliminating the tax could lead to a home renovation boom that would have positive ripple effects for local economies.
“I think sometimes we fail to phrase this in moral terms, you know, there’s right and there’s wrong,” Gillen said. “To drive somebody out of their castle is wrong.”
Noting that there will be an election in the House of Representatives within the next year to replace retiring Speaker Mike Turzai, Gillen went so far as to say that the next speaker would need to commit to repealing property taxes in order to earn his support.
“I’m drawing a line in the sand,” he said. “If you want to be the speaker of the House and you want my vote — I don’t care whether the vote is 200 to one. … If you want my vote, then you need to indicate that you are going to advance property tax legislation in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or I won’t vote for you for speaker of the House.”
To state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the property tax is a blight on the freedoms of state residents.
“I say we’re not a free people, and property tax needs to go,” he said “It’s a socialist system that’s crushing our elderly and breaking the backs of our working class. Every time I turn around, there’s another scheme to take money out of our wallets or to put more regulations on our back. How long can we take it?”
Marta Gouger contributed to this report.
Comments
The key is spending, not taxing
The key is to get the government out of education. The key is to allow choice. The key is to get the greedy teachers and their corrupt scum bag union away from our dearly beloved children.
The key is total reform, and you will never get that with Democrats in charge.
Democrats get control, when they can control what feeds in to our beloved children.
Salaries really are not the issue. The issue is the surging pension costs (that unfortunately we can do very little about in the short term), healthcare premiums, massive fragmented overhead (too many districts) and fragmented support services (too many districts). If you want a reasonable approach to spending reduction, I would suggest the following:
School District consolidation: One district per county (unless the county is very large) that would result in shared support and administrative overhead and drive down these expenses. The size of these districts would allow for better negotiating power with suppliers, food servces, bussing, etc. It would also allow the districts to pool risk and bring down health insurance premiums, although I would suggest below is better:
Pooled health insurance on a state level: Have one statewide insurance plan that covers all teachers and staff. The large risk pool will bring down premiums
Buy-out plan for all employees 60 or older: Offer retirement at 60 cutting the number of higher salary employees and high utilizers of health insurance.
These would work. You can continue to live in a fairy tale world where unions don't exist and everyone would agree to paying for schooling but I believe these steps are actually possible and would make an impact on spending
Ultimately everything the govt touches turns to crap. I hope property taxes go, but I fear it may open a Pandora’s box of spending.
It's time to stop this unfair school tax. It's time to eliminate, not reduce, ELIMINATE the unconstitutional, unfair, school property tax.
It's also time to reduce spending on these inadequate, less than average institutes of indoctrination we call "Public Schools". They are government training camps funded by private property taxes on your home. The founding fathers never, ever intended this. NO WAY!
Register, then vote in 2020
We have choice.