Where we live: Tax reform: What will it entail?

For some years we’ve been hearing about efforts in Harrisburg to bring about property tax reform.

I view with trepidation the various proposals. Frankly, I just don’t trust political arithmetic.

The state governing hierarchy has taken numerous actions in recent years that enhanced such distrust.

As an example, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission had been self-sufficient for years. Then along came the state government a number of years ago and robbed the commission’s till to pay for unrelated highway projects. The result is that the commission was put in the red and now is forced to impose an incessant increase in tolls.

Another example is, some years ago, Pennsylvania lawmakers added a substantial gas tax to pay for bridge and road replacement. It was stressed that ALL the money generated would be used for this purpose.

Guess what? That’s not the case. Much of that money goes to paying for state police patrols.

This isn’t a knock against funding the state police. It’s just that lawmakers aren’t always honest about their stated appropriations.

Pennsylvanians pay the highest gas tax in the country — 57.6 cents per gallon. Yet road maintenance is often a topic of frustration.

Back to property tax reform.

Let’s say that a school district needs $10 million to operate. Of that amount, let’s say, for example’s sake only and tossing a random figure, that $5 million comes from property taxes.

If those property taxes are reduced or eliminated, that $5 million must come from somewhere else.

A sales tax increase would help school districts with the most commerce. Even districts with large shopping centers and healthy retail climates would enter untested territory regarding the availability of made-up finances.

Would the property tax reform affect just school taxes or real estate taxes across the board? How would money raised through other taxing sources be divided? Would the formula end up costing taxpayers even more than what they’re paying in real estate taxes?

Do the politicians even have a formula worked out? Merely proclaiming that relief is on the way isn’t enough. Taxpayers need facts and mostly figures.

Considering how our state and federal governments show such fiscal recklessness, do we really trust them to reformulate our local taxing ability?

Being a property owner, it’s understandable how the yearly tax bills can be unnerving. Pennsylvania isn’t the only state with such a financial encumbrance. In some other states, the real estate tax bills are even higher than they are locally.

As an example of how illogical our politicians are, they enacted school choice whereby students can opt for charter and cyber schools. The funding for these schools must come from the local school district budgets. It’s like owning a bakery, having customers who don’t like what you’re selling, and having to pay for that customer’s goodies from another bakery’s goodies because the customer lives in your neighborhood.

Charter and cyber schools are privately operated without public input. Public schools are run by boards elected by the local population. The charter and cyber schools are corporate entities, often with stockholders and little or no local oversight.

Before tax reform can occur, there has to be more transparency about the proposals. There must be public hearings with facts and figures.

Mostly, legislators must prove they know that they have a workable solution.

Just ask the Panther Valley School Board what it means to be a small school district with little clout and how other districts get a much bigger piece of the state funding pie.