On May 14, 2009, the Reading Eagle published an outrageous editorial titled "Sales tax is not the means to eliminate property tax" that strongly opposed the School Property Tax Elimination Act.
You can read the editorial on the Reading Eagle website here.
The editorial was damaging enough, but, even worse, the piece was loaded with false information from beginning to end - in fact, not one thing this editorial said was correct. If the Eagle wants to oppose the SPTEA that is their right but they could at least do it without resorting to false information to prove their point. What ever happened to journalistic integrity?
Who researched this for the Eagle editorial board? How could the Eagle editorial board get this so wrong? What is their agenda for printing so much incorrect information? It is obvious from the glaring errors that they knew nothing about the details of the SPTEA. It was irresponsible of the Eagle to not get the facts correct before taking such a slanted editorial stance.
The SPTEA prime sponsor, Representative Sam Rohrer (128-Berks), requested equal space for a rebuttal op-ed piece but was denied. Instead, he was told to submit his rebuttal as a 200 word letter to the editor; this is nowhere near the space required to fully correct the many errors. To allow Representative Rohrer the opportunity to completely rebut the editorial, we have posted his full version below.
If you would care to write your own letter to the editor regarding this, send it to letters@readingeagle.com.
Editorial Response
Your most recent editorial (“Sales tax is not the means to eliminate property tax,” Reading Eagle, May 14) called me “persistent.” In that spirit, I wish to respond to the editorial and respectfully disagree with your assessment.
First, briefly, I would like to point out that the 501 school districts do not levy a sales tax, but rather a property tax, which does indeed raise $9.9 billion.
“Widening the sales tax to cover some items that currently are not taxed very well could raise an additional $1.3 billion.”
In fact, based on the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s figures from the past few years, widening the sales tax can and will raise an additional $7 billion because we are now including many previously untaxed goods and most services. To ensure that we do not have to tax food and clothing, the plan also proposes taking a portion of the extraordinary proven future revenues raised by royalty payments located on state-owned Marcellus Shale natural gas fields.
“But remember that the money raised by the sales tax goes into the general fund...so the expanded sales tax would have to raise $18.5 billion in order to replace the real estate tax and to continue funding the things already funded by the sales tax.”
Currently, the sales tax does go into the General Fund but is essentially allocated for the purpose of funding education and does not need to be replaced as you claim. My plan does not take money away from the General Fund. Instead, it takes all the current sales tax revenue designated for education and moves it into a separate and protected Educational Operating Fund. As such, both the current sales tax and the new, expanded sales tax, would be protected from normal General Fund expenditures and reserved only for education—as it should be.
Since my plan does not take any money away from General Fund appropriations, the sales tax would only have to replace $7 billion in homestead/farmstead school property tax revenue—nowhere near the $18.5 billion that you claim.
“And one must take into account that in this economy, the sales tax is not raising as much money as it has in better times.”
It is indeed unfortunate that these economic times are stretching the resources of our citizens and businesses like few other times in our nation’s history. While the Eagle points out that cutting spending would necessitate cutting personnel or debt payments, the schools must first cut extracurricular and non-educational programs, where there is currently room. Second, I fully recognize the difficulties of school districts facing unfunded mandates from both the state and the federal government, and agree that these burdensome requirements need to be altered or funded as promised. The premise, however, is that schools and their programs are not sacred cows and in times of revenue shortfalls must reduce expenses just like all homeowners.
“We have long advocated an income tax to fill that role [of the property tax].”
Finally, please know that I am first and foremost concerned with the elimination of school property taxes. If we can find another way to do so, I will not hesitate to support any plan that frees homeowners from this onerous burden. In my sixteen years in office, however, I am firmly convinced that the plan we have formulated is in the best interests of education and the citizens of Pennsylvania. In this particular plan, I point to the same Department of Revenue April revenue figures the Eagle quoted: sales tax revenue is down 6.7%, but the income tax was down over 10%. The facts are clear: the sales tax is the most stable way to provide funding for our schools and it was begun in 1953 expressly for this purpose.
The bottom line is that no one wants to cut anything. This is not a political plan—this is a financial and fiscal plan. As an elected official, I have the responsibility to do what is legislatively and fiscally sound, even if it is not politically expedient. I am grateful for this opportunity to add significant facts to this debate, and welcome the continued public discussion.
Rep. Samuel Rohrer
128th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The SPTEA is Announced; 2009 gambling rebates posted.
Update and ** ACTION ITEM **
05 May 2009
Dear Friends,
There have been many developments on the property tax front during the past week. To keep from overloading you, this update covers only three of the items; the remainder will be sent in a later update.
2009 SPTEA Announced!
On Monday, May 4, Representative Sam Rohrer (128–Berks) announced this session’s introduction of House Bill 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, in a press release. The release is copied below my signature.
The new bill will be formally introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the near future. Until this happens, we need to gather as many co-sponsors as possible for this bill.
** ACTION ITEM **
This is VERY important! If you will, please contact your representative as soon as possible to firmly request his or her co-sponsorship of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. Although some representatives may offer more of their lame excuses for not co-sponsoring, please do not accept them! You can find your representative and contact information by Zip+4 here.
Further, please circulate this update as widely as possible to your friends, neighbors, and relatives and ask all of them to also contact their representative. The more co-sponsors we have on the bill the better our chances for action.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2009 Gambling-funded property tax relief posted
On May 1 the Pennsylvania Department of Education released the preliminary estimated 2009 tax relief from gambling money for most Pennsylvania School Districts. For many homeowners the amount of the relief is about the same as last year and varies between $32 and $641, depending on your school district.
The relief charts have been posted on the PTCC website here. Please note that the relief numbers are incomplete for some districts because a few counties have not yet reported their number of eligible homesteads. The charts will be updated as new information becomes available.
Don't get too excited about your huge and historic (Governor Rendell's words) “relief” money and don't plan to spend all of it in one place!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New SPTEA Petition
Jeff Helwig of the PCTA’s Wyoming County group has written an excellent petition in support of the SPTEA that can be distributed throughout the state. Jeff has volunteered to spearhead this effort by spreading the petitions across the state and then collecting all completed petitions, with the intent of organizing a march on Harrisburg later this year to present them to the General Assembly.
The PCTA and PTCC are asking that you circulate this petition as widely as possible, send it others, and work to find volunteers to ask for signatures at the polls on Election Day, May 19. Election Day would be a great time to gather LOTS of signatures and to spread the word about the SPTEA. If you can also separately gather e-mail addresses from signers and send them to me I'd appreciate it - I'll send them invitations to join the PTCC e-mail list.
The five page petition is available as a PDF file on the PTCC website here. You can print it as five separate pages or flip the paper over and print both sides.
You can send completed petitions to Jeff at:
Wyoming County Concerned Taxpayers PAC
1501 SR6 West
Tunkhannock, PA 18657
Jeff will keep us informed of our progress on this initiative.
I'd like to express my sincere appreciation to Jeff for his work and initiative in starting this effort. Thanks, Jeff!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That’s all for today. As I mentioned above, I’ll send another PTCC Update shortly to cover other items that have developed during the past week.
My sincere thanks to all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to eliminate property taxes and reform the Pennsylvania education finance system.
Please feel free to write to me at any time with questions or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
www.ptcc.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2009
Rohrer Reintroduces School Property Tax Elimination Act
Touting the benefits Pennsylvania has lost by not acting sooner, Rohrer says eliminating the unfair tax would jumpstart Pennsylvania’s economy
HARRISBURG— Hailing it as the single most important step Pennsylvania lawmakers could take to jumpstart the state’s economy, prime sponsor Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) today unveiled the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA).
“The SPTEA offers a dramatic comparison to the current federal stimulus plan,” Rohrer said. “Compared to the federal stimulus of $18 billion over three years, the SPTEA would infuse approximately $7 billion annually into the economy, as homeowners are freed from their onerous property tax bills. The magnitude of the plan simply dwarfs any other options, without using government spending or subsidies, and puts billions into the hands of our citizens to pay their bills, invest in the economy or support local businesses.
“No tax should have the power to leave you homeless,” Rohrer continued. “Seniors citizens, retired couples, young families, recently laid-off workers—through no fault of their own, all these people are standing on the precipice of losing their homes, as their pensions have plummeted and incomes have been reduced or even eliminated. For families struggling to make mortgage payments, this plan offers the only true hope of remaining in their homes and securing their home ownership.”
The bill is distinctive in that it remains the only plan that has the capacity and the simplicity to present a comprehensive restructuring of the way Pennsylvania funds its schools and addresses issues of spending controls, predictability, debt, and distribution. Instead of relying on local school property taxes, school districts would receive their primary source of funding from an expanded state sales tax. The sales tax rate would remain at 6 percent, but would be expanded to include some currently tax-exempt items. Food, clothing, prescription medications and other essential items and services would not be taxed under Rohrer’s plan. The SPTEA also would use new rent and royalty payments generated through expanded natural gas harvesting activities on state forest lands to fund Pennsylvania schools.
“Partial reduction is not the answer,” Rohrer stated. “Taxes continue to rise unabated, and the governor’s so-called ‘Property Tax Relief Fund’ barely makes a dent in what most taxpayers have to pay. It’s a political response, designed to alleviate the problem and never solve it, and it has distracted from the real issue. The only solution is complete and total elimination.”
Funds from the expanded state sales tax and the revenues from Marcellus Shale natural gas development would be deposited into a newly created Education Operating Fund (EOF). The money in the EOF would be used to implement a four-year phase out of school district property taxes. The phase-out would ensure a smooth transition into the new system without disrupting normal operations of either schools or businesses.
“When we first introduced the idea of school property tax elimination, our proposal ran parallel with Governor Rendell’s proposal to use gambling proceeds to relieve—never solve—the property tax burden,” Rohrer said. “Here we are, seven years later, and homeowners have received just one payment, and a pittance at that, to help with their taxes. Had we enacted the SPTEA back then, we would have already passed through the four-year phase out. Homeowners would not only be free from paying any school property taxes, but the state would have had the time to build up the excess revenue in order to weather this current economic storm.”
The SPTEA addresses the spending side of the equation, tying the school districts’ revenue to the sales tax. Under the current system, as overall property tax revenue decreases because of increasing foreclosures and delinquencies, schools are forced to consider raising their property tax rates, further burdening those who can pay and creating a vicious cycle of foreclosures and delinquencies. Under Rohrer’s plan, the sales tax would continue to create a stable form of revenue. Even in difficult economic climates when the sales tax revenue declines, schools would be forced, along with all Pennsylvanians, to reduce their spending.
Rohrer argued that using the state sales tax to fund education poses significant benefits over the existing property tax system. Specifically, he noted that the sales tax was instituted in 1953 expressly for the purpose of educational funding, and as such remains the best-suited source for the schools because sales tax revenue—and thus school revenue—will grow as the economy improves. In addition, Pennsylvanians will have more control over the amount of taxes they pay, as they can increase or reduce their tax burden based on the purchases they make. Finally, sales tax revenue is sensitive to economic realities, ensuring that when Pennsylvania families are forced to reduce their consumption, schools also will be forced to reign in their spending.
Rohrer’s plan also offers the first real opportunity for voters to have direct control over any future tax increases. Under the SPTEA, any future tax increases would have to be approved by voters through a ballot referendum.
“Under the provisions of Act 1, the voter referendums we have are what I like to call ‘taxpayer protection in name only,’” Rohrer said. “Sure, we have a law that says voters are supposed to have the right to approve or deny any school tax increases. But the Department of Education usually grants the district an exemption and the voters never have a chance to vote on the tax increase. My plan offers real voter empowerment where previous plans offered only false hope.”
“For years, school property tax elimination seemed like a pie-in-the-sky idea to lawmakers in Harrisburg—a noble but impractical goal,” Rohrer said. “But we have a plan to make that dream a reality. Now, it is only a matter of whether state lawmakers choose to listen to their constituents and then act upon their cries in order to make that dream come true for Pennsylvania property taxpayers.”
The SPTEA will be introduced as House Bill 1275. For more information about the proposal, visit Rohrer’s Web site at SamRohrer.com.
# # #
05 May 2009
Dear Friends,
There have been many developments on the property tax front during the past week. To keep from overloading you, this update covers only three of the items; the remainder will be sent in a later update.
2009 SPTEA Announced!
On Monday, May 4, Representative Sam Rohrer (128–Berks) announced this session’s introduction of House Bill 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, in a press release. The release is copied below my signature.
The new bill will be formally introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the near future. Until this happens, we need to gather as many co-sponsors as possible for this bill.
** ACTION ITEM **
This is VERY important! If you will, please contact your representative as soon as possible to firmly request his or her co-sponsorship of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. Although some representatives may offer more of their lame excuses for not co-sponsoring, please do not accept them! You can find your representative and contact information by Zip+4 here.
Further, please circulate this update as widely as possible to your friends, neighbors, and relatives and ask all of them to also contact their representative. The more co-sponsors we have on the bill the better our chances for action.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2009 Gambling-funded property tax relief posted
On May 1 the Pennsylvania Department of Education released the preliminary estimated 2009 tax relief from gambling money for most Pennsylvania School Districts. For many homeowners the amount of the relief is about the same as last year and varies between $32 and $641, depending on your school district.
The relief charts have been posted on the PTCC website here. Please note that the relief numbers are incomplete for some districts because a few counties have not yet reported their number of eligible homesteads. The charts will be updated as new information becomes available.
Don't get too excited about your huge and historic (Governor Rendell's words) “relief” money and don't plan to spend all of it in one place!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New SPTEA Petition
Jeff Helwig of the PCTA’s Wyoming County group has written an excellent petition in support of the SPTEA that can be distributed throughout the state. Jeff has volunteered to spearhead this effort by spreading the petitions across the state and then collecting all completed petitions, with the intent of organizing a march on Harrisburg later this year to present them to the General Assembly.
The PCTA and PTCC are asking that you circulate this petition as widely as possible, send it others, and work to find volunteers to ask for signatures at the polls on Election Day, May 19. Election Day would be a great time to gather LOTS of signatures and to spread the word about the SPTEA. If you can also separately gather e-mail addresses from signers and send them to me I'd appreciate it - I'll send them invitations to join the PTCC e-mail list.
The five page petition is available as a PDF file on the PTCC website here. You can print it as five separate pages or flip the paper over and print both sides.
You can send completed petitions to Jeff at:
Wyoming County Concerned Taxpayers PAC
1501 SR6 West
Tunkhannock, PA 18657
Jeff will keep us informed of our progress on this initiative.
I'd like to express my sincere appreciation to Jeff for his work and initiative in starting this effort. Thanks, Jeff!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That’s all for today. As I mentioned above, I’ll send another PTCC Update shortly to cover other items that have developed during the past week.
My sincere thanks to all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to eliminate property taxes and reform the Pennsylvania education finance system.
Please feel free to write to me at any time with questions or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
www.ptcc.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2009
Rohrer Reintroduces School Property Tax Elimination Act
Touting the benefits Pennsylvania has lost by not acting sooner, Rohrer says eliminating the unfair tax would jumpstart Pennsylvania’s economy
HARRISBURG— Hailing it as the single most important step Pennsylvania lawmakers could take to jumpstart the state’s economy, prime sponsor Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) today unveiled the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA).
“The SPTEA offers a dramatic comparison to the current federal stimulus plan,” Rohrer said. “Compared to the federal stimulus of $18 billion over three years, the SPTEA would infuse approximately $7 billion annually into the economy, as homeowners are freed from their onerous property tax bills. The magnitude of the plan simply dwarfs any other options, without using government spending or subsidies, and puts billions into the hands of our citizens to pay their bills, invest in the economy or support local businesses.
“No tax should have the power to leave you homeless,” Rohrer continued. “Seniors citizens, retired couples, young families, recently laid-off workers—through no fault of their own, all these people are standing on the precipice of losing their homes, as their pensions have plummeted and incomes have been reduced or even eliminated. For families struggling to make mortgage payments, this plan offers the only true hope of remaining in their homes and securing their home ownership.”
The bill is distinctive in that it remains the only plan that has the capacity and the simplicity to present a comprehensive restructuring of the way Pennsylvania funds its schools and addresses issues of spending controls, predictability, debt, and distribution. Instead of relying on local school property taxes, school districts would receive their primary source of funding from an expanded state sales tax. The sales tax rate would remain at 6 percent, but would be expanded to include some currently tax-exempt items. Food, clothing, prescription medications and other essential items and services would not be taxed under Rohrer’s plan. The SPTEA also would use new rent and royalty payments generated through expanded natural gas harvesting activities on state forest lands to fund Pennsylvania schools.
“Partial reduction is not the answer,” Rohrer stated. “Taxes continue to rise unabated, and the governor’s so-called ‘Property Tax Relief Fund’ barely makes a dent in what most taxpayers have to pay. It’s a political response, designed to alleviate the problem and never solve it, and it has distracted from the real issue. The only solution is complete and total elimination.”
Funds from the expanded state sales tax and the revenues from Marcellus Shale natural gas development would be deposited into a newly created Education Operating Fund (EOF). The money in the EOF would be used to implement a four-year phase out of school district property taxes. The phase-out would ensure a smooth transition into the new system without disrupting normal operations of either schools or businesses.
“When we first introduced the idea of school property tax elimination, our proposal ran parallel with Governor Rendell’s proposal to use gambling proceeds to relieve—never solve—the property tax burden,” Rohrer said. “Here we are, seven years later, and homeowners have received just one payment, and a pittance at that, to help with their taxes. Had we enacted the SPTEA back then, we would have already passed through the four-year phase out. Homeowners would not only be free from paying any school property taxes, but the state would have had the time to build up the excess revenue in order to weather this current economic storm.”
The SPTEA addresses the spending side of the equation, tying the school districts’ revenue to the sales tax. Under the current system, as overall property tax revenue decreases because of increasing foreclosures and delinquencies, schools are forced to consider raising their property tax rates, further burdening those who can pay and creating a vicious cycle of foreclosures and delinquencies. Under Rohrer’s plan, the sales tax would continue to create a stable form of revenue. Even in difficult economic climates when the sales tax revenue declines, schools would be forced, along with all Pennsylvanians, to reduce their spending.
Rohrer argued that using the state sales tax to fund education poses significant benefits over the existing property tax system. Specifically, he noted that the sales tax was instituted in 1953 expressly for the purpose of educational funding, and as such remains the best-suited source for the schools because sales tax revenue—and thus school revenue—will grow as the economy improves. In addition, Pennsylvanians will have more control over the amount of taxes they pay, as they can increase or reduce their tax burden based on the purchases they make. Finally, sales tax revenue is sensitive to economic realities, ensuring that when Pennsylvania families are forced to reduce their consumption, schools also will be forced to reign in their spending.
Rohrer’s plan also offers the first real opportunity for voters to have direct control over any future tax increases. Under the SPTEA, any future tax increases would have to be approved by voters through a ballot referendum.
“Under the provisions of Act 1, the voter referendums we have are what I like to call ‘taxpayer protection in name only,’” Rohrer said. “Sure, we have a law that says voters are supposed to have the right to approve or deny any school tax increases. But the Department of Education usually grants the district an exemption and the voters never have a chance to vote on the tax increase. My plan offers real voter empowerment where previous plans offered only false hope.”
“For years, school property tax elimination seemed like a pie-in-the-sky idea to lawmakers in Harrisburg—a noble but impractical goal,” Rohrer said. “But we have a plan to make that dream a reality. Now, it is only a matter of whether state lawmakers choose to listen to their constituents and then act upon their cries in order to make that dream come true for Pennsylvania property taxpayers.”
The SPTEA will be introduced as House Bill 1275. For more information about the proposal, visit Rohrer’s Web site at SamRohrer.com.
# # #
No property tax relief this year? And a deputy sheriff speaks out.
27 March 2009
Dear Friends,
Today’s update contains a few notes of interest and two stories that will probably infuriate you and will strongly emphasize the need to continue our efforts for property tax elimination.
- There’s not much to report about the reintroduction of the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA). Although no definite date has been set, we’re expecting an introduction of the bill before the end of April. I’ll send an update immediately when we know more.
- Most people who are paying a mortgage have their property tax bills sent directly to their mortgage holder and a property tax escrow amount is included in their monthly payment. When they receive their annual escrow analysis that includes an increase in their monthly payment, many of these folks just consider this a part of doing business and are unaware of the total amount of taxes paid. When you ask folks to support the SPTEA, please tell them to look at their total property tax bill to see how much they can save if school taxes are totally eliminated.
- A PTCC subscriber sent me a response from Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) to a letter he wrote asking for the senator’s help in enacting the SPTEA. Senator Pileggi’s reply contained more than a page of useless rhetoric followed by his endorsement of slots money for property tax “relief” (more about this below). From the tone of his letter, it is pretty obvious that Senator Pileggi has no interest whatsoever in tackling the elimination property taxes. This is unfortunate since he, as Majority Leader, has the power to determine the flow of legislation in the senate. All of you, and especially those in his district, might want to send Senator Pileggi a letter advising him of your displeasure at his inaction on this issue. dpileggi@pasen.gov
- The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA) is pleased to announce the addition of the 31st taxpayer group to the alliance. The Wyoming County Concerned Taxpayers joined us earlier in March in support of the SPTEA and we’re excited to have them as part of our coalition. Welcome! If you’re a resident of Wyoming County, please consider joining this very active and focused group. Contact information is available on the PTCC website under the “About the PCTA” tab. If you’ve considered starting a taxpayer group in your area and need help, contact any PCTA member group for assistance.
- Just one more short item: Each month we lose a few PTCC subscribers because they’ve changed their e-mail address or internet service provider. If your e-mail address changes, please send a brief note with the old and new addresses so you will continue to receive the updates.
Now for the stories …
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No property tax relief this year?
In the March 23 edition of the Harrisburg Patriot-News, reporter Sharon Smith wrote an article
By law, the property tax relief fund must reach a trigger level of $570 million by April 15 before the state can distribute any “relief”. A spokesperson for the Governor’s Budget Office indicated that revenue through the end of February will total about $505 million, leaving a $65 million shortfall to be made up by the certification date. Average monthly relief revenue is about $46 million, so it is very possible that the trigger level will not be reached. Even if it is, the amount of relief will be even less than the minimal amount that was distributed last year.
This has a number of very ugly consequences, especially for those who live in modest homes in school districts where last year’s relief was greatest. Here’s a quick example that was calculated by a finance expert who is a member of our coalition:
Last year’s property tax relief in the York School District was $525. The total gross school property tax on a home assessed at approximately $34,000 was $1,000, leaving that homeowner with a $475 net tax bill after the reduction. If there is no property tax relief this year, this homeowner will have to pay the full $1,000 - a tax increase of 110% over last year’s bill, and this assumes that there will be no increase in this year’s school property taxes. If the York SD increases taxes to the 6.5% Act 1 limit, this homeowner will pay $1065, a tax increase of 124% over last year!
Using the same math, a York SD home that is assessed at the $55,000 average for the district would see a 57.3% increase.
But it can get even worse.
The immediate impact could be much more than what you’d think if a person's real estate taxes are escrowed. Using the average assessed home value above as an example, the property tax could go up about $600, which means the mortgage company will likely be that much "short" when they make the tax payment this summer. First, they'll have to make up the shortfall for this year by adding $50+ to your monthly payment. Second, they'll raise the escrow at least another $50+ per month for next year's bill so they aren't behind in the escrow again next year. The potential result? A double-whammy of about $1,200, or $100 per month. This could vary depending on how far under or over you are with your current escrow balance.
In short, look for little to no “relief” this year and the real possibility of some pain compared to last year.
This is the sad result of the “substantial” property tax relief that was promised to us by the governor and the lawmakers who were the rabid proponents of legalized gambling. Do you still believe that legalizing slot machines was about property tax relief? Can you believe that they are still insisting that this is the answer to the property tax crisis? All of the bogus property tax “relief” plans that have been, and continue to be, foisted on us are motivated by nothing more than worthless, self-serving politics that has no regard whatsoever for the taxpayers.
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A Deputy Sheriff speaks out!
It is estimated that about 10,000 homes are sold at sheriff’s sale each year in Pennsylvania. Even though that number in itself is shocking, few of us know the truly revolting details of how this is done.
In January I received a letter from a deputy sheriff that described the process of evicting a family whose home is being sold at a sheriff’s sale. While I have no reason to doubt the letter’s accuracy, I nonetheless submitted it to a deputy in a different area of the state who verified that the facts are correct. Here’s the letter:
****
From:
Date: Jan 19, 2009
Subject: A Deputy Sheriff's View of Property Tax Seizures
Dear David,
I have to write you this note because of disgust I have with the excessive taxes and the ugly result that is happening to our property owners in Pennsylvania.
I am a Deputy Sheriff in Pennsylvania. One of the duties of our job is to serve foreclosure notices and conduct physical evictions on property owners. Imagine having someone knock on your door up to 10:00 P.M. in the evening. You answer the door and are faced with two or more Deputy Sheriffs in full uniform with a marked sheriff’s car outside. The local police may already been notified in the event of a "problem". The neighbors may be watching. One of the deputies presents you with a court order stating that you are being evicted from your home due to unpaid property taxes. This process may already taken a year or so before coming to this tragic end, but the property owner knows it's coming. The property owner reacts with fear, uncertainty, anger and shame.
You advise the owner and family present that they have a "short" (fifteen minutes or so) time to vacate the premises. The wife starts crying, the kids are screaming and it gets ugly. Emotions are at their highest. You follow (for the safety of the deputies) the residents through their house and "allow" them to pack a few bags before they are "escorted" out of the house and off the property. Sometimes even the vehicles are seized as a result of default thereby making the owners and family leave on foot. A latch and lock bolts are attached to the doors and notices are posted that the house is now available for "Sheriff’s Sale".
This is real life reenactment of what we do. It's dirty, disgusting and shameful. How can this happen you may ask yourself? Let me tell you. Your local municipality and school district elected officials are often incompetent and lack any business experience and/or training. They levy tax after tax after tax on "improvements" that your "representatives" see fit for the "good" of the community. New and "improved" multimillion dollar schools and township buildings are built resulting in "needed additional taxes". These ever increasing taxes are levied on top of your already high taxes. The two working parent/partner property owners struggle to pay these taxes BUT now the working, retired, disabled or low wage earning family just can't keep up. They are unable to pay these excessive taxes and go into default. Additional fines and penalties are assessed, further aggravating the situation. Eventually a court action is levied by the county against the owner and the property is seized (sometimes by force and arrest). YES, BY THE SHOW OF OR ACTUAL PHYSICAL FORCE AND ARREST!
Now is the time to stop this abuse. Restructure the way we are assessed taxes and save the homes of hard working, retired and disabled property owners in Pennsylvania. Have the Deputy Sheriffs do what we do best and that is Law Enforcement, not tax collectors and evictors! Remember, our country seceded from the British rule but not without an ugly price. History is reliving itself. Remember the revolution. Is it necessary to come to that? It may be.
****
This letter starkly illustrates the horrific abuse to which good, decent, law-abiding homeowners of Pennsylvania are being subjected; they are treated like criminals simply because they can no longer afford to pay tribute to their government and schools through inequitable and subjective property taxes. Perhaps we should find a way to make every Harrisburg politician who opposes property tax elimination ride with a deputy on one of these seizures to see firsthand the devastation that is caused by their inaction and selfish political games.
I sent you these stories today to emphasize the need for us to do everything possible to end this injustice. We knew from the beginning that the road to property tax elimination would be long and difficult and that fighting the entrenched, corrupt political establishment would be a struggle. But no matter how weary or discouraged we may become, WE CANNOT GIVE UP! The politicians depend on the taxpayers to have short memories and little patience and they will continue to give us the runaround in the hope that we will give up and go away. We must demonstrate to them that we will not yield until they have returned to us what is rightfully ours: To be secure in our homes and property.
For the cause,
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
www.ptcc.us
Dear Friends,
Today’s update contains a few notes of interest and two stories that will probably infuriate you and will strongly emphasize the need to continue our efforts for property tax elimination.
- There’s not much to report about the reintroduction of the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA). Although no definite date has been set, we’re expecting an introduction of the bill before the end of April. I’ll send an update immediately when we know more.
- Most people who are paying a mortgage have their property tax bills sent directly to their mortgage holder and a property tax escrow amount is included in their monthly payment. When they receive their annual escrow analysis that includes an increase in their monthly payment, many of these folks just consider this a part of doing business and are unaware of the total amount of taxes paid. When you ask folks to support the SPTEA, please tell them to look at their total property tax bill to see how much they can save if school taxes are totally eliminated.
- A PTCC subscriber sent me a response from Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) to a letter he wrote asking for the senator’s help in enacting the SPTEA. Senator Pileggi’s reply contained more than a page of useless rhetoric followed by his endorsement of slots money for property tax “relief” (more about this below). From the tone of his letter, it is pretty obvious that Senator Pileggi has no interest whatsoever in tackling the elimination property taxes. This is unfortunate since he, as Majority Leader, has the power to determine the flow of legislation in the senate. All of you, and especially those in his district, might want to send Senator Pileggi a letter advising him of your displeasure at his inaction on this issue. dpileggi@pasen.gov
- The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA) is pleased to announce the addition of the 31st taxpayer group to the alliance. The Wyoming County Concerned Taxpayers joined us earlier in March in support of the SPTEA and we’re excited to have them as part of our coalition. Welcome! If you’re a resident of Wyoming County, please consider joining this very active and focused group. Contact information is available on the PTCC website under the “About the PCTA” tab. If you’ve considered starting a taxpayer group in your area and need help, contact any PCTA member group for assistance.
- Just one more short item: Each month we lose a few PTCC subscribers because they’ve changed their e-mail address or internet service provider. If your e-mail address changes, please send a brief note with the old and new addresses so you will continue to receive the updates.
Now for the stories …
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No property tax relief this year?
In the March 23 edition of the Harrisburg Patriot-News, reporter Sharon Smith wrote an article
By law, the property tax relief fund must reach a trigger level of $570 million by April 15 before the state can distribute any “relief”. A spokesperson for the Governor’s Budget Office indicated that revenue through the end of February will total about $505 million, leaving a $65 million shortfall to be made up by the certification date. Average monthly relief revenue is about $46 million, so it is very possible that the trigger level will not be reached. Even if it is, the amount of relief will be even less than the minimal amount that was distributed last year.
This has a number of very ugly consequences, especially for those who live in modest homes in school districts where last year’s relief was greatest. Here’s a quick example that was calculated by a finance expert who is a member of our coalition:
Last year’s property tax relief in the York School District was $525. The total gross school property tax on a home assessed at approximately $34,000 was $1,000, leaving that homeowner with a $475 net tax bill after the reduction. If there is no property tax relief this year, this homeowner will have to pay the full $1,000 - a tax increase of 110% over last year’s bill, and this assumes that there will be no increase in this year’s school property taxes. If the York SD increases taxes to the 6.5% Act 1 limit, this homeowner will pay $1065, a tax increase of 124% over last year!
Using the same math, a York SD home that is assessed at the $55,000 average for the district would see a 57.3% increase.
But it can get even worse.
The immediate impact could be much more than what you’d think if a person's real estate taxes are escrowed. Using the average assessed home value above as an example, the property tax could go up about $600, which means the mortgage company will likely be that much "short" when they make the tax payment this summer. First, they'll have to make up the shortfall for this year by adding $50+ to your monthly payment. Second, they'll raise the escrow at least another $50+ per month for next year's bill so they aren't behind in the escrow again next year. The potential result? A double-whammy of about $1,200, or $100 per month. This could vary depending on how far under or over you are with your current escrow balance.
In short, look for little to no “relief” this year and the real possibility of some pain compared to last year.
This is the sad result of the “substantial” property tax relief that was promised to us by the governor and the lawmakers who were the rabid proponents of legalized gambling. Do you still believe that legalizing slot machines was about property tax relief? Can you believe that they are still insisting that this is the answer to the property tax crisis? All of the bogus property tax “relief” plans that have been, and continue to be, foisted on us are motivated by nothing more than worthless, self-serving politics that has no regard whatsoever for the taxpayers.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A Deputy Sheriff speaks out!
It is estimated that about 10,000 homes are sold at sheriff’s sale each year in Pennsylvania. Even though that number in itself is shocking, few of us know the truly revolting details of how this is done.
In January I received a letter from a deputy sheriff that described the process of evicting a family whose home is being sold at a sheriff’s sale. While I have no reason to doubt the letter’s accuracy, I nonetheless submitted it to a deputy in a different area of the state who verified that the facts are correct. Here’s the letter:
****
From:
Date: Jan 19, 2009
Subject: A Deputy Sheriff's View of Property Tax Seizures
Dear David,
I have to write you this note because of disgust I have with the excessive taxes and the ugly result that is happening to our property owners in Pennsylvania.
I am a Deputy Sheriff in Pennsylvania. One of the duties of our job is to serve foreclosure notices and conduct physical evictions on property owners. Imagine having someone knock on your door up to 10:00 P.M. in the evening. You answer the door and are faced with two or more Deputy Sheriffs in full uniform with a marked sheriff’s car outside. The local police may already been notified in the event of a "problem". The neighbors may be watching. One of the deputies presents you with a court order stating that you are being evicted from your home due to unpaid property taxes. This process may already taken a year or so before coming to this tragic end, but the property owner knows it's coming. The property owner reacts with fear, uncertainty, anger and shame.
You advise the owner and family present that they have a "short" (fifteen minutes or so) time to vacate the premises. The wife starts crying, the kids are screaming and it gets ugly. Emotions are at their highest. You follow (for the safety of the deputies) the residents through their house and "allow" them to pack a few bags before they are "escorted" out of the house and off the property. Sometimes even the vehicles are seized as a result of default thereby making the owners and family leave on foot. A latch and lock bolts are attached to the doors and notices are posted that the house is now available for "Sheriff’s Sale".
This is real life reenactment of what we do. It's dirty, disgusting and shameful. How can this happen you may ask yourself? Let me tell you. Your local municipality and school district elected officials are often incompetent and lack any business experience and/or training. They levy tax after tax after tax on "improvements" that your "representatives" see fit for the "good" of the community. New and "improved" multimillion dollar schools and township buildings are built resulting in "needed additional taxes". These ever increasing taxes are levied on top of your already high taxes. The two working parent/partner property owners struggle to pay these taxes BUT now the working, retired, disabled or low wage earning family just can't keep up. They are unable to pay these excessive taxes and go into default. Additional fines and penalties are assessed, further aggravating the situation. Eventually a court action is levied by the county against the owner and the property is seized (sometimes by force and arrest). YES, BY THE SHOW OF OR ACTUAL PHYSICAL FORCE AND ARREST!
Now is the time to stop this abuse. Restructure the way we are assessed taxes and save the homes of hard working, retired and disabled property owners in Pennsylvania. Have the Deputy Sheriffs do what we do best and that is Law Enforcement, not tax collectors and evictors! Remember, our country seceded from the British rule but not without an ugly price. History is reliving itself. Remember the revolution. Is it necessary to come to that? It may be.
****
This letter starkly illustrates the horrific abuse to which good, decent, law-abiding homeowners of Pennsylvania are being subjected; they are treated like criminals simply because they can no longer afford to pay tribute to their government and schools through inequitable and subjective property taxes. Perhaps we should find a way to make every Harrisburg politician who opposes property tax elimination ride with a deputy on one of these seizures to see firsthand the devastation that is caused by their inaction and selfish political games.
I sent you these stories today to emphasize the need for us to do everything possible to end this injustice. We knew from the beginning that the road to property tax elimination would be long and difficult and that fighting the entrenched, corrupt political establishment would be a struggle. But no matter how weary or discouraged we may become, WE CANNOT GIVE UP! The politicians depend on the taxpayers to have short memories and little patience and they will continue to give us the runaround in the hope that we will give up and go away. We must demonstrate to them that we will not yield until they have returned to us what is rightfully ours: To be secure in our homes and property.
For the cause,
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
www.ptcc.us
A Letter From the Speaker
13 February 2009
A letter from the Speaker
Dear Friends,
In January we reported about a recent commentary in the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader where Luzerne County Representative Todd Eachus, the new majority leader, said: “The state House of Representatives is under new management and has new priorities, and the people of Pennsylvania will determine those priorities.”
But, alas, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In the last update we suggested that you write to Representative Eachus and Representative Keith McCall, the new House Speaker, to request that they support school property tax elimination. Many of you did this and a few of you sent Speaker McCall’s form letter reply to me. Copied below is his letter, followed by my comments.
From: "Wegert, Debbie"
To:
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Subject: property tax
Rep. McCall asked that I forward the following response to your inquiry.
Thank you for your e-mail about the need for property tax relief. I am very aware of how property taxes have impacted homeowners across the Commonwealth.
Last session, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took preliminary, yet solid, steps toward property tax reform. Of particular note, the House passed House Bill 1947 of the 2007-08 Legislative Session, which was a constitutional amendment that would allow for the elimination of school property taxes on primary homes and farms. This type of legislation is considered a key procedural effort to constitutionally allow Pennsylvania to fund a 100 percent exemption rather than what the constitution currently provides – fifty percent of the median assessed value, which ranges from a ten to twenty five percent reduction. Without this enabling language, all other efforts to fully relieve Pennsylvanians of school property taxes would be futile. This legislation will be reintroduced in the very near future.
The House also debated proposals that provided for the complete elimination of property taxes. Complete elimination is the ultimate goal; however, the Commonwealth needs to fill a potential $15 billion dollar hole when those taxes are abolished. There is no secret formula to fill the funding gap to pay for schools without implementing a tax shift or new taxes. We must work together to fill this funding gap.
As the General Assembly begins the 2009-10 Legislative Session, my colleagues and I will be tasked with addressing a myriad of issues such as education, health care, alternative energy and property tax reform all while tackling a growing state budget deficit. I do not expect the sluggish economy to change overnight; however, I do remain optimistic for our future. In regards to property tax reform, in such difficult economic times, the legislature needs to consider what the average taxpayer can afford to pay in order to fill such a possible funding gap with the elimination of property taxes.
The issue of trying to provide tax relief during a recession is certainly complex in nature and the legislature is giving its due diligence. The legislature is preparing to begin a dialogue on property tax reform and the constitutional amendment will probably be the first order of business. Your comments will be kept in mind as the discussion unfolds.
Please rest assured that I am cognizant of how rising property taxes, a national mortgage crisis, and a weak national economy coupled with a growing state deficit and rising prices are hitting hard-working families where it hurts. Please know that I strive to lessen the burden on Pennsylvania taxpayers, including providing property tax relief, and will continue my efforts on behalf of all Pennsylvanians.
Again, thank you for writing. I truly appreciate your feedback on this important issue.
Sincerely,
KEITH R. McCALL
The Speaker
122nd Legislative District
Apparently Speaker McCall thinks we’re all pretty stupid and that we’re going to simply accept his letter as gospel. Here are the facts:
His first statement sets the tone for the rest of the letter: “the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took preliminary, yet solid, steps toward property tax reform.” Sure they did. The full House worked a total of TWO days on property tax issues during the entire two years of the 2007-2008 legislative session. When HB 1600, the worthless “relief” bill championed by Speaker McCall’s caucus leadership, went down in flames, his leaders panicked and immediately sent all pending property tax bills to the Finance Committee where they remained until they died at the end of the session in November. Solid steps, indeed!
Next, he boasts about House Bill 1947, legislation that died in the Senate. This bill was sponsored by Representative David Levdansky, one of the most vocal opponents of school property tax elimination. This immediately makes the bill's intent suspect.
HB 1947 was an amendment to change the uniformity clause of the PA Constitution, which states that taxes cannot be levied unequally on entities within the same taxing body. The bill's purpose was to allow different tax rates for homesteads and businesses. But the devil is in the details.
HB 1947 would ALLOW a 100% homestead exemption from property taxes but in itself would not mandate or guarantee total elimination; the reduction allowed could be any amount up to 100%. Further, HB 1947 by itself did NOTHING - it would require further enabling legislation in the future to have any effect whatsoever. There was no assurance that this would ever happen.
In short, HB 1947 was simply more political deception to try to make taxpayers believe that the legislature was actually doing something about property taxes.
Now Speaker McCall wants to reintroduce the bill this session. Because a Constitutional amendment requires passage by two succeeding sessions of the General Assembly, a difficult task by itself, plus a voter referendum, the absolute earliest that the bill could become law is 2011, although this could occur much later. Only then would enabling legislation be considered. This is a great way to delay property tax elimination indefinitely.
Despite Speaker McCall's statement that without this legislation “all other efforts… would be futile”, the School Property Tax Elimination Act is written in such a manner that it can become effective IMMEDIATELY upon passage WITHOUT the need to first pass an amendment like HB 1947. This statement from Speaker McCall is totally disingenuous.
In the next paragraph, Speaker McCall states that $15 billion is required to fill the gap left from elimination. This is completely false unless he is talking about ALL property taxes, including county and municipal, but this has not been the immediate goal of our efforts and he knows this.
The total of homestead/farmstead SCHOOL property taxes to be eliminated by the School Property Tax Elimination Act is about $7 billion; the total for all school property taxes, including businesses, is about $11 billion. Neither amount approaches the $15 billion stated by Speaker McCall. This is simply more deception to support his opposition to elimination.
In the same paragraph Speaker McCall says there is no way to fill the funding gap without a tax shift. What’s his point? Although he makes this sound objectionable, we all know that elimination will require a shift to other taxes; the goal is to shift to taxes that are more equitable than the property tax. Most Pennsylvania homeowners support a tax shift as long as school property taxes are ELIMINATED.
In his third paragraph he wails about difficult economic times and "what the average taxpayer can afford to pay" to eliminate the school property tax. Which is better, a few hundred dollars in sales tax or thousands of dollars in school property tax? Which is better, a few hundred dollars in sales tax or losing your home? This is a baseless argument that is yet another example of making excuses to avoid dealing with the issue.
Next, Speaker McCall whines about the property tax issue being "complex in nature". Without a doubt this is true, but no more so than the enactment of a massive gambling law that was passed in the middle of the night with no public input and little chance for rank-and-file legislators to review the language. Complex laws CAN be quickly enacted if the courage, leadership, and will to do so are present. Unfortunately, these virtues are embraced by few members of the General Assembly, with many who prefer lies, deceit and cowardice to true statesmanship. The taxpayers of Pennsylvania are left to suffer from their inaction and lack of integrity.
Finally, Speaker McCall says he will strive for property tax "relief". The homeowners of Pennsylvania have had enough fraudulent, ill-conceived "relief" schemes that are simply tax increases in disguise. We want total ELIMINATION! Apparently Speaker McCall either just doesn't get it or is callously ignoring the plight of Pennsylvania homeowners.
Speaker McCall’s letter is typical of the kind of trash we've been fed during the past thirty years, so it appears that nothing has changed despite the House majority leadership’s promise of "new management and new priorities".
Please consider forwarding today’s update to friends, family, and co-workers. One way to help end this kind of chicanery is to expose the politicians’ dishonesty and hypocrisy to as many folks as possible.
If you wish, you can also write to Speaker McCall and to your Pennsylvania Representative and Senator to let them know your reaction to Speaker McCall’s letter. Speaker McCall’s contact information is below; you can find your legislators’ information from the “Find Your Legislators” link on the left side of any PTCC web page. Please send any responses to me for comment if you’d care to do so.
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
E-mail: kmccall@pahouse.net
It's easy to become discouraged by letters like Speaker McCall’s, but don't let it happen. This kind of attempted deception simply makes me more resolute and I hope that it will do the same for you. We cannot allow the self-serving, unethical politicians to trample our rights and we must keep up the fight. As one PTCC subscriber wrote to me: “Sometimes it makes me wonder just how stupid the politicians in Harrisburg think we taxpayers are. Most of us are able to see through the maze of deception that they try to snow us with. WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY."
To all of you, please hang in there and do what you can to help the cause. If we stick together we can beat the underhanded schemes of the politicians who oppose property tax elimination and we WILL get this done.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
One more brief note: Please check out the new “How Can I Help” page on the PTCC website at www.ptcc.us. There you’ll find lots of good suggestions on how to work for school property tax elimination.
As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who are working to support this effort. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to write with comments or suggestions.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
A letter from the Speaker
Dear Friends,
In January we reported about a recent commentary in the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader where Luzerne County Representative Todd Eachus, the new majority leader, said: “The state House of Representatives is under new management and has new priorities, and the people of Pennsylvania will determine those priorities.”
But, alas, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In the last update we suggested that you write to Representative Eachus and Representative Keith McCall, the new House Speaker, to request that they support school property tax elimination. Many of you did this and a few of you sent Speaker McCall’s form letter reply to me. Copied below is his letter, followed by my comments.
From: "Wegert, Debbie"
To:
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009
Subject: property tax
Rep. McCall asked that I forward the following response to your inquiry.
Thank you for your e-mail about the need for property tax relief. I am very aware of how property taxes have impacted homeowners across the Commonwealth.
Last session, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took preliminary, yet solid, steps toward property tax reform. Of particular note, the House passed House Bill 1947 of the 2007-08 Legislative Session, which was a constitutional amendment that would allow for the elimination of school property taxes on primary homes and farms. This type of legislation is considered a key procedural effort to constitutionally allow Pennsylvania to fund a 100 percent exemption rather than what the constitution currently provides – fifty percent of the median assessed value, which ranges from a ten to twenty five percent reduction. Without this enabling language, all other efforts to fully relieve Pennsylvanians of school property taxes would be futile. This legislation will be reintroduced in the very near future.
The House also debated proposals that provided for the complete elimination of property taxes. Complete elimination is the ultimate goal; however, the Commonwealth needs to fill a potential $15 billion dollar hole when those taxes are abolished. There is no secret formula to fill the funding gap to pay for schools without implementing a tax shift or new taxes. We must work together to fill this funding gap.
As the General Assembly begins the 2009-10 Legislative Session, my colleagues and I will be tasked with addressing a myriad of issues such as education, health care, alternative energy and property tax reform all while tackling a growing state budget deficit. I do not expect the sluggish economy to change overnight; however, I do remain optimistic for our future. In regards to property tax reform, in such difficult economic times, the legislature needs to consider what the average taxpayer can afford to pay in order to fill such a possible funding gap with the elimination of property taxes.
The issue of trying to provide tax relief during a recession is certainly complex in nature and the legislature is giving its due diligence. The legislature is preparing to begin a dialogue on property tax reform and the constitutional amendment will probably be the first order of business. Your comments will be kept in mind as the discussion unfolds.
Please rest assured that I am cognizant of how rising property taxes, a national mortgage crisis, and a weak national economy coupled with a growing state deficit and rising prices are hitting hard-working families where it hurts. Please know that I strive to lessen the burden on Pennsylvania taxpayers, including providing property tax relief, and will continue my efforts on behalf of all Pennsylvanians.
Again, thank you for writing. I truly appreciate your feedback on this important issue.
Sincerely,
KEITH R. McCALL
The Speaker
122nd Legislative District
Apparently Speaker McCall thinks we’re all pretty stupid and that we’re going to simply accept his letter as gospel. Here are the facts:
His first statement sets the tone for the rest of the letter: “the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took preliminary, yet solid, steps toward property tax reform.” Sure they did. The full House worked a total of TWO days on property tax issues during the entire two years of the 2007-2008 legislative session. When HB 1600, the worthless “relief” bill championed by Speaker McCall’s caucus leadership, went down in flames, his leaders panicked and immediately sent all pending property tax bills to the Finance Committee where they remained until they died at the end of the session in November. Solid steps, indeed!
Next, he boasts about House Bill 1947, legislation that died in the Senate. This bill was sponsored by Representative David Levdansky, one of the most vocal opponents of school property tax elimination. This immediately makes the bill's intent suspect.
HB 1947 was an amendment to change the uniformity clause of the PA Constitution, which states that taxes cannot be levied unequally on entities within the same taxing body. The bill's purpose was to allow different tax rates for homesteads and businesses. But the devil is in the details.
HB 1947 would ALLOW a 100% homestead exemption from property taxes but in itself would not mandate or guarantee total elimination; the reduction allowed could be any amount up to 100%. Further, HB 1947 by itself did NOTHING - it would require further enabling legislation in the future to have any effect whatsoever. There was no assurance that this would ever happen.
In short, HB 1947 was simply more political deception to try to make taxpayers believe that the legislature was actually doing something about property taxes.
Now Speaker McCall wants to reintroduce the bill this session. Because a Constitutional amendment requires passage by two succeeding sessions of the General Assembly, a difficult task by itself, plus a voter referendum, the absolute earliest that the bill could become law is 2011, although this could occur much later. Only then would enabling legislation be considered. This is a great way to delay property tax elimination indefinitely.
Despite Speaker McCall's statement that without this legislation “all other efforts… would be futile”, the School Property Tax Elimination Act is written in such a manner that it can become effective IMMEDIATELY upon passage WITHOUT the need to first pass an amendment like HB 1947. This statement from Speaker McCall is totally disingenuous.
In the next paragraph, Speaker McCall states that $15 billion is required to fill the gap left from elimination. This is completely false unless he is talking about ALL property taxes, including county and municipal, but this has not been the immediate goal of our efforts and he knows this.
The total of homestead/farmstead SCHOOL property taxes to be eliminated by the School Property Tax Elimination Act is about $7 billion; the total for all school property taxes, including businesses, is about $11 billion. Neither amount approaches the $15 billion stated by Speaker McCall. This is simply more deception to support his opposition to elimination.
In the same paragraph Speaker McCall says there is no way to fill the funding gap without a tax shift. What’s his point? Although he makes this sound objectionable, we all know that elimination will require a shift to other taxes; the goal is to shift to taxes that are more equitable than the property tax. Most Pennsylvania homeowners support a tax shift as long as school property taxes are ELIMINATED.
In his third paragraph he wails about difficult economic times and "what the average taxpayer can afford to pay" to eliminate the school property tax. Which is better, a few hundred dollars in sales tax or thousands of dollars in school property tax? Which is better, a few hundred dollars in sales tax or losing your home? This is a baseless argument that is yet another example of making excuses to avoid dealing with the issue.
Next, Speaker McCall whines about the property tax issue being "complex in nature". Without a doubt this is true, but no more so than the enactment of a massive gambling law that was passed in the middle of the night with no public input and little chance for rank-and-file legislators to review the language. Complex laws CAN be quickly enacted if the courage, leadership, and will to do so are present. Unfortunately, these virtues are embraced by few members of the General Assembly, with many who prefer lies, deceit and cowardice to true statesmanship. The taxpayers of Pennsylvania are left to suffer from their inaction and lack of integrity.
Finally, Speaker McCall says he will strive for property tax "relief". The homeowners of Pennsylvania have had enough fraudulent, ill-conceived "relief" schemes that are simply tax increases in disguise. We want total ELIMINATION! Apparently Speaker McCall either just doesn't get it or is callously ignoring the plight of Pennsylvania homeowners.
Speaker McCall’s letter is typical of the kind of trash we've been fed during the past thirty years, so it appears that nothing has changed despite the House majority leadership’s promise of "new management and new priorities".
Please consider forwarding today’s update to friends, family, and co-workers. One way to help end this kind of chicanery is to expose the politicians’ dishonesty and hypocrisy to as many folks as possible.
If you wish, you can also write to Speaker McCall and to your Pennsylvania Representative and Senator to let them know your reaction to Speaker McCall’s letter. Speaker McCall’s contact information is below; you can find your legislators’ information from the “Find Your Legislators” link on the left side of any PTCC web page. Please send any responses to me for comment if you’d care to do so.
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
E-mail: kmccall@pahouse.net
It's easy to become discouraged by letters like Speaker McCall’s, but don't let it happen. This kind of attempted deception simply makes me more resolute and I hope that it will do the same for you. We cannot allow the self-serving, unethical politicians to trample our rights and we must keep up the fight. As one PTCC subscriber wrote to me: “Sometimes it makes me wonder just how stupid the politicians in Harrisburg think we taxpayers are. Most of us are able to see through the maze of deception that they try to snow us with. WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY."
To all of you, please hang in there and do what you can to help the cause. If we stick together we can beat the underhanded schemes of the politicians who oppose property tax elimination and we WILL get this done.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
One more brief note: Please check out the new “How Can I Help” page on the PTCC website at www.ptcc.us. There you’ll find lots of good suggestions on how to work for school property tax elimination.
As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who are working to support this effort. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to write with comments or suggestions.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
Update - The New Legislature
09 January 2009
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year to all!
Today’s update will not have a great deal of information; we’re in a holding pattern because of the new session of the General Assembly but I’ll tell you as much as we know right now.
The 2009-2010 session of the Pennsylvania Senate will convene on January 20 and the House of Representatives will convene on January 26.
We know that the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA) will be re-introduced in the House early in this session, although we do not yet have a date. Because all pending legislation expired with the close of the last legislative session on November 30, the re-introduced SPTEA may have a bill number other than the HB 1275 used in the 2007-2008 session. I’ll send more details immediately when they become available.
We also know that Senator Mike Folmer (R-48) will be introducing a similar or possibly identical bill in the Senate, something that has never occurred before. This is terrific news, since it will give us the opportunity to work for property tax elimination in both houses of the General Assembly.
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA), our statewide umbrella group, has begun planning based on current information and I’ll share our plans in a future update after they’ve been firmed up a bit.
Property taxes look like a hot issue for this session and it appears that a number of competing bills may also be introduced. It’s a certainty that many of them will be more of the same fake "relief" like last session’s HB 1600 and we're going to have to be very discriminating when deciding what to support. Our only sure winner right now is the SPTEA.
In the meantime, we can get an early start with the new legislature.
The Democrats retained control of the House with a 104-99 majority, so they will control the flow of legislation this session. We can begin 2009 by respectfully requesting that the new House majority leadership team make school property tax elimination a priority.
In a recent commentary in the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, Luzerne County Representative Todd Eachus, the new majority leader, said: “The state House of Representatives is under new management and has new priorities, and the people of Pennsylvania will determine those priorities.”
We’ll assume that Representative Eachus is being sincere, so it’s important that everyone please write or call him and new House Speaker Keith McCall to let them know our foremost priority: The complete ELIMINATION of school property taxes! The contact information to make this request to these leaders is below.
For those of you in Northeast Pennsylvania, it’s especially important for you to make your voices heard since these two lawmakers are from your area and are sensitive to your demands. Because of the hard work of CAPTaxes, the PCTA taxpayer advocacy group in Luzerne County, combined with the large number of homeowners in the Northeast supporting elimination due to the recent botched Luzerne County reassessment, we have a unique opportunity for folks in your area to make a big difference.
Good people have suffered for far too long while some of our lawmakers waste time playing shallow, self-serving political games. It is time for those who have opposed elimination to disavow the special interests, reject the petty politics, and do what is right for the people of Pennsylvania. Nothing less than TOTAL ELIMINATION is acceptable and no excuses can be tolerated.
Speaker of the House
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
E-mail: kmccall@pahouse.net
Majority Floor Leader
Hon. Todd A. Eachus
100 West Broad St.
Suite #107
Hazleton, PA 18201
(570) 450-7905
Fax: (570) 459-3946
E-mail: teachus@pahouse.net
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Because of the current economic situation the property tax issue has become even more critical. Foreclosures and tax sales have greatly increased and more folks than ever are losing their homes.
On January 4th, the Sunday Reading Eagle contained a pull-out section listing properties in Berks County that will be sold at sheriff’s sale this month. The supplement was similar in appearance to a supermarket flyer; it had a full color graphic at the top, a picture of the sheriff and a sheriff’s badge, a few pictures of attractive homes, and four nine-column pages of homes that will be auctioned. How many of these homes could have been saved if school property taxes and the resulting monthly escrow payments were eliminated?
I was particularly outraged by this piece because it was presented in such a blatantly commercial manner even though each listing represents the devastation of a family’s life. Does this indicate how callous the government has become about seizing our homes and destroying our dreams?
We have gone well beyond the problem of exorbitant and unfair property taxes to a more basic violation of our Constitutional rights: The right to be secure in one’s property. The right to possess and use one’s own private property was recognized by the framers of our Constitution and in our founding government documents as one of the foremost of our inalienable, inviolable, rights.
John Adams declared: “Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.” James Madison said: “Government is instituted to protect property… This being the end of government, that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own.”
Despite the intent of our founding fathers to guarantee that we are to be secure in our property, our government can simply confiscate our homes at will to satisfy a subjective and inequitable tax. This must end! Property taxes must be eliminated NOW and the sacrosanct right to be secure in our property restored.
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Just one more note: Thanks to the efforts of all of you we have built tremendous momentum over the past few years but we need to continue to build if we are to reach our goal. Please ask your family, friends, neighbors - everyone you know – to join in this cause by visiting the PTCC website at www.ptcc.us to learn about the SPTEA and to subscribe to the PTCC e-mail updates. In a grassroots effort such as ours, every voice counts!
Please accept my sincere gratitude to all of you for your ongoing help and support – it is greatly appreciated. NOW LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO GET THIS DONE!
Please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com with questions or comments.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year to all!
Today’s update will not have a great deal of information; we’re in a holding pattern because of the new session of the General Assembly but I’ll tell you as much as we know right now.
The 2009-2010 session of the Pennsylvania Senate will convene on January 20 and the House of Representatives will convene on January 26.
We know that the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA) will be re-introduced in the House early in this session, although we do not yet have a date. Because all pending legislation expired with the close of the last legislative session on November 30, the re-introduced SPTEA may have a bill number other than the HB 1275 used in the 2007-2008 session. I’ll send more details immediately when they become available.
We also know that Senator Mike Folmer (R-48) will be introducing a similar or possibly identical bill in the Senate, something that has never occurred before. This is terrific news, since it will give us the opportunity to work for property tax elimination in both houses of the General Assembly.
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA), our statewide umbrella group, has begun planning based on current information and I’ll share our plans in a future update after they’ve been firmed up a bit.
Property taxes look like a hot issue for this session and it appears that a number of competing bills may also be introduced. It’s a certainty that many of them will be more of the same fake "relief" like last session’s HB 1600 and we're going to have to be very discriminating when deciding what to support. Our only sure winner right now is the SPTEA.
In the meantime, we can get an early start with the new legislature.
The Democrats retained control of the House with a 104-99 majority, so they will control the flow of legislation this session. We can begin 2009 by respectfully requesting that the new House majority leadership team make school property tax elimination a priority.
In a recent commentary in the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, Luzerne County Representative Todd Eachus, the new majority leader, said: “The state House of Representatives is under new management and has new priorities, and the people of Pennsylvania will determine those priorities.”
We’ll assume that Representative Eachus is being sincere, so it’s important that everyone please write or call him and new House Speaker Keith McCall to let them know our foremost priority: The complete ELIMINATION of school property taxes! The contact information to make this request to these leaders is below.
For those of you in Northeast Pennsylvania, it’s especially important for you to make your voices heard since these two lawmakers are from your area and are sensitive to your demands. Because of the hard work of CAPTaxes, the PCTA taxpayer advocacy group in Luzerne County, combined with the large number of homeowners in the Northeast supporting elimination due to the recent botched Luzerne County reassessment, we have a unique opportunity for folks in your area to make a big difference.
Good people have suffered for far too long while some of our lawmakers waste time playing shallow, self-serving political games. It is time for those who have opposed elimination to disavow the special interests, reject the petty politics, and do what is right for the people of Pennsylvania. Nothing less than TOTAL ELIMINATION is acceptable and no excuses can be tolerated.
Speaker of the House
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
E-mail: kmccall@pahouse.net
Majority Floor Leader
Hon. Todd A. Eachus
100 West Broad St.
Suite #107
Hazleton, PA 18201
(570) 450-7905
Fax: (570) 459-3946
E-mail: teachus@pahouse.net
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Because of the current economic situation the property tax issue has become even more critical. Foreclosures and tax sales have greatly increased and more folks than ever are losing their homes.
On January 4th, the Sunday Reading Eagle contained a pull-out section listing properties in Berks County that will be sold at sheriff’s sale this month. The supplement was similar in appearance to a supermarket flyer; it had a full color graphic at the top, a picture of the sheriff and a sheriff’s badge, a few pictures of attractive homes, and four nine-column pages of homes that will be auctioned. How many of these homes could have been saved if school property taxes and the resulting monthly escrow payments were eliminated?
I was particularly outraged by this piece because it was presented in such a blatantly commercial manner even though each listing represents the devastation of a family’s life. Does this indicate how callous the government has become about seizing our homes and destroying our dreams?
We have gone well beyond the problem of exorbitant and unfair property taxes to a more basic violation of our Constitutional rights: The right to be secure in one’s property. The right to possess and use one’s own private property was recognized by the framers of our Constitution and in our founding government documents as one of the foremost of our inalienable, inviolable, rights.
John Adams declared: “Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.” James Madison said: “Government is instituted to protect property… This being the end of government, that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own.”
Despite the intent of our founding fathers to guarantee that we are to be secure in our property, our government can simply confiscate our homes at will to satisfy a subjective and inequitable tax. This must end! Property taxes must be eliminated NOW and the sacrosanct right to be secure in our property restored.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Just one more note: Thanks to the efforts of all of you we have built tremendous momentum over the past few years but we need to continue to build if we are to reach our goal. Please ask your family, friends, neighbors - everyone you know – to join in this cause by visiting the PTCC website at www.ptcc.us to learn about the SPTEA and to subscribe to the PTCC e-mail updates. In a grassroots effort such as ours, every voice counts!
Please accept my sincere gratitude to all of you for your ongoing help and support – it is greatly appreciated. NOW LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO GET THIS DONE!
Please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com with questions or comments.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Next Steps
28 October 2008
Dear Friends,
Many of you have written to me during the past few weeks asking for an update on school property tax elimination. Please accept my apology for not writing sooner but I was waiting for complete information before sending another update.
No further action was taken by the House of Representatives on any property tax measure during the final days of the 2007-2008 legislative session as the majority leadership continued to keep bills bottled up in committee. The Pennsylvania General Assembly has now adjourned for the year and no further votes will be conducted, barring any emergency measures, until the new General Assembly convenes in January. Any bills still in committee, including HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, will become void and will have to be re-introduced during the new session.
During the two years of the 2007-2008 session, a mere two days was spent on property tax issues and, even then, NOTHING was accomplished.
In the meantime, the House leadership is bragging about their achievements: A new dog law, regulations for massage therapists, an updated construction code, and an elk license auction. While I’m sure that these laws are worthy, they pale in comparison to the urgency of keeping thousands of Pennsylvanians in their homes rather than having them evicted for non-payment of property taxes or struggling to survive while paying those taxes.
The 2007-2008 session was a poster child for misplaced priorities.
Before looking ahead to the new session in January, we must now turn our attention to the upcoming election. Next week we will have the opportunity to strengthen our position for school property tax elimination by rejecting those lawmakers who have opposed our wishes.
A Voter’s Guide that lists co-sponsors of HB 1275, voting records on the bill, and a chart of positions for all House candidates has been published on the PTCC website. You can access this from the PTCC home page at http://www.ptcc.us by clicking on the red “Voter’s Guide” box on the upper right of the page. Please consider the information carefully before you make your decision on how to vote.
For those of you who are straight-party voters, please consider splitting your ticket if the candidate from the other party is a supporter of school property tax elimination. It is urgent that we change the makeup of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by electing those who are willing to work for us on this vital issue.
I want to thank all of you for the tremendous support you have shown during this session of the legislature and hope that you will continue this support when the new session convenes in January. We WILL keep fighting until this battle is won.
That’s all for now. Look for a post-election update in a few weeks.
Please feel free to write if you have questions or concerns: pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Dear Friends,
Many of you have written to me during the past few weeks asking for an update on school property tax elimination. Please accept my apology for not writing sooner but I was waiting for complete information before sending another update.
No further action was taken by the House of Representatives on any property tax measure during the final days of the 2007-2008 legislative session as the majority leadership continued to keep bills bottled up in committee. The Pennsylvania General Assembly has now adjourned for the year and no further votes will be conducted, barring any emergency measures, until the new General Assembly convenes in January. Any bills still in committee, including HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, will become void and will have to be re-introduced during the new session.
During the two years of the 2007-2008 session, a mere two days was spent on property tax issues and, even then, NOTHING was accomplished.
In the meantime, the House leadership is bragging about their achievements: A new dog law, regulations for massage therapists, an updated construction code, and an elk license auction. While I’m sure that these laws are worthy, they pale in comparison to the urgency of keeping thousands of Pennsylvanians in their homes rather than having them evicted for non-payment of property taxes or struggling to survive while paying those taxes.
The 2007-2008 session was a poster child for misplaced priorities.
Before looking ahead to the new session in January, we must now turn our attention to the upcoming election. Next week we will have the opportunity to strengthen our position for school property tax elimination by rejecting those lawmakers who have opposed our wishes.
A Voter’s Guide that lists co-sponsors of HB 1275, voting records on the bill, and a chart of positions for all House candidates has been published on the PTCC website. You can access this from the PTCC home page at http://www.ptcc.us by clicking on the red “Voter’s Guide” box on the upper right of the page. Please consider the information carefully before you make your decision on how to vote.
For those of you who are straight-party voters, please consider splitting your ticket if the candidate from the other party is a supporter of school property tax elimination. It is urgent that we change the makeup of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by electing those who are willing to work for us on this vital issue.
I want to thank all of you for the tremendous support you have shown during this session of the legislature and hope that you will continue this support when the new session convenes in January. We WILL keep fighting until this battle is won.
That’s all for now. Look for a post-election update in a few weeks.
Please feel free to write if you have questions or concerns: pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Update and ** ACTION ITEM **
12 September 2008
Dear Friends,
Welcome to September and I hope that all of you had a nice summer. This month the General Assembly returns to work after their summer recess and it is time for us to get busy again.
As you know, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, House Bill 1275, has been bottled up in the Appropriations committee by the House majority leadership since its introduction last November.
On July 3, Representative Sam Rohrer filed a Discharge Resolution signed by 26 of his colleagues to have the bill released from committee and onto the House floor for debate and an up-or-down vote. A Discharge Resolution is a procedural maneuver used to force a bill from committee when the committee has refused to act on the bill.
On Monday, September 15, Representative Rohrer will announce the Resolution on the floor of the House. After a waiting period of 48 hours the full House can vote on the resolution; a majority vote is necessary to release the bill from committee. This vote could come as early as Wednesday, September 17.
** ACTION ITEM **
Please contact your Representative by phone, e-mail, or letter as soon as possible to let him or her know that you expect them to vote in favor of the Discharge Resolution to allow HB 1275 to the House floor for debate. Further, be sure to firmly but respectfully let them know that your vote in November will be predicated solely on their approval of this resolution. You can find contact information for your Representative by clicking the “Find Your Legislators” link in the left column of the PTCC home page at http://www.ptcc.us.
There is NO GOOD REASON for any Representative to oppose this resolution. Voting for the resolution does not obligate them in any way to vote for HB 1275’s passage – it merely allows the bill to come to the House floor for an open and honest debate and a straight vote. The ONLY reasons for opposing this resolution would be orders from a Representative’s party leadership and pure partisan politics. For an issue as important as property tax elimination this is not a valid excuse.
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Also during the coming weeks there is a good possibility that HB 2199 will come to the House floor for a vote. This bill is the companion legislation to the School Property Tax Elimination Act that calls for a constitutional amendment to forever abolish property taxes as a method for funding public education. Since this is a constitutional amendment, it must be passed by two succeeding sessions of the General Assembly. Because of this, it is vitally important to our efforts that HB 2199 is passed before the end of this year.
Since HB 2199 is a very short and uncomplicated piece of legislation it is possible that it could be passed by both the House and Senate before the end of this legislative session. Your help will be needed again when this bill comes up for a vote, so stay tuned.
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I’m sure that you’ve seen my previous remarks about Representative David Levdansky of Allegheny/Washington Counties, the man who has most consistently and vocally opposed school property tax elimination.
In the last PTCC newsletter I described his new “plan” for property tax elimination that he is currently touting to his constituents. In his August 20 “Report to Seniors” newsletter he promotes the bill to “eliminate all school property taxes by the year 2010 and all school property taxes for senior citizens immediately.” Representative Levdansky knows that this bill has ZERO chance of passage during this session of the General Assembly, yet he uses it to solicit votes from the most vulnerable and desperate of Pennsylvania’s homeowners. It is unconscionable that he should raise false hope for these folks simply for blatant pandering.
Fortunately, Representative Levdansky has a November opponent in Ms. Monica Douglas of Elizabeth. I would urge anyone in or around Representative Levdansky’s district to do whatever they can to help Ms. Douglas with her campaign in the 39th district. Representative Levdansky’s defeat in November would be a HUGE step in the right direction for school property tax elimination.
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Finally, a note for PTCC subscribers in Northeast Pennsylvania. Luzerne County homeowners are fighting a recent inaccurate and disastrous property reassessment. A group of homeowners in that area have formed a tax advocacy group to oppose this reassessment and to work for the elimination of property taxes through HB 1275.
With one notable exception, ALL of the Representatives from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties have followed their leadership in opposition to HB 1275 and have offered nothing but lies and lame excuses to justify their vote.
The one exception, Representative Karen Boback of Luzerne County, will be hosting a town meeting and rally in support of school property tax elimination through HB 1275. Besides Representative Boback, speakers will include HB 1275’s prime sponsor, Representative Sam Rohrer, who will give a presentation on the bill, and me – I’ll be talking about HB 1275 from a taxpayer advocate’s perspective.
If you live in the Northeast, please plan to attend! The meeting will be held from 7 to 8:30 PM on Thursday, Sept. 18 at the Dallas Middle School, 2000 Conyngham Avenue. I hope to see you there.
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That’s all for now. Please continue your support of our grassroots effort for property tax elimination. Together, we WILL win!
Please feel free to contact me at pataxpayers@gmail.com with questions, comments, or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
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