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
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
The Games Continue!
05 August 2008
Dear Friends,
This is the first PTCC update in quite a while because there has not been much happening in Harrisburg since the budget was completed. I’ll try to bring you up to date on what has transpired since then.
HB 1275
The plan to attach the School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) language as an amendment to the education funding bill fell apart when the bill was the last to be debated as part of the budget. Whether this happened by chance or by the House leadership’s design, it was too late to debate 1275 and the amendment would almost certainly have failed.
Representative Sam Rohrer has now filed a discharge resolution to force HB 1275 out of the Appropriations Committee where it has been bottled up by the Democratic leadership since last year. This action will force the bill onto the floor for debate sometime during the September/October session but it’s doubtful that there will be enough time remaining before the election to take any substantive action on the bill.
HB 2199
However, it has been reported that Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese has promised Democratic Representative Tom Yewcic that HB 2199, his companion bill to HB 1275 that calls for a constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes, will be allowed to the floor for debate. This is an uncomplicated bill that could possibly be approved by both the House and Senate before the election and would be a substantial step toward elimination during the new 2009-2010 legislative session. We’ll have more plans for the promotion of HB 2199 as more information becomes available.
Perzel vs. Levdansky, AKA the Rs vs. the Ds
Another property tax bill may possibly come to the floor of the House for debate in September. This bill is our old friend HB 1600 and has quite a story that I’m sure will infuriate you. The circumstances surrounding HB 1600 demonstrate how little regard some members of the General Assembly have for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.
Do you remember the original HB 1600 that was promoted by Democratic Representative David Levdansky? It called for a 0.5% increase in the sales tax and a 0.22% increase in the income tax for an approximate $400 property tax reduction and was the Democratic leadership’s preferred vehicle for property tax “relief”. The PTCC and PCTA opposed this bill because of the temporary relief it offered while imposing two new taxes.
The Levdansky version of 1600 was defeated in January 2008 by a gut-and-replace amendment that was written by Philadelphia Republican Representative John Perzel. This amendment completely removed Levdansky’s original language and replaced it with a proposal to eliminate property taxes for seniors over 65 earning less than $40,000 by using all available slot machine revenue. This is a very popular stance but the bill doesn’t work financially – the demand for relief will quickly increase as more baby boomers retire and property taxes increase and the slots revenue will not be able to keep pace. But that really doesn’t matter since the amendment accomplished its goal…
Ding! Ding! Round one winner: Republicans. This was a score in the “R” column because the Perzel amendment defeated the Democrats’ plan.
After the Levdansky version of 1600 went down in flames the Democratic leadership panicked and returned all property tax bills to the Finance Committee (which is chaired by Representative Levdansky) to resign them to a slow death.
Suddenly on July 3 after a discharge resolution was filed by Representative Perzel, HB 1600 popped out of the Finance Committee with a new two part amendment that would freeze property taxes in 2009 and would force the General Assembly to eliminate property taxes by 2010. The bill is now in the Appropriations Committee.
The Democrats know that this bill has ZERO chance of passage by both the House and Senate because there is insufficient time before the election and, besides, probably would have problems anyway because the politicians wouldn’t want to back themselves into a corner by obligating themselves to achieve elimination by 2010. Knowing that this bill will die on the floor, they’ve effectively defeated the Perzel Republican version of HB 1600.
Ding! Ding! Round two winner: Democrats. Besides defeating Perzel by advancing an amendment that is sure to kill the bill, this move also gives them the ability to brag about their efforts for elimination just in time for the election - and they did just that in a recent House Democratic Caucus newsletter.
The real insult is a quote from Rep. Levdansky in the August 2 edition of the Connellsville Daily Courier: "My bill provides the ultimate in property tax relief -- it eliminates the tax entirely -- freezing millage rates next year will halt any tax increases before school property taxes would be eliminated in 2010”. What unabashed garbage!
During the property tax debate in January, Representative Jim Cox pointedly asked Representative Levdansky at least three times if he supports total property tax elimination; Levdansky avoided the question all three times. Now he suddenly is the champion of elimination? Where was this idea six months ago? The upcoming election wouldn’t have anything to do with his amazing change of heart, would it? This is nothing more than pure pandering. Why not support HB 1275 if you’re so intent on elimination, Representative Levdansky, and get the job done NOW?
Are you angry yet? You should be! These cynical political games are the primary focus of the leadership and many of the members of our dysfunctional legislature. And while they scheme and play them they don’t care in the least about doing the job for which they were elected – protecting and serving the people of Pennsylvania. While one party tries to beat the other, the taxpayers of Pennsylvania pay the price and good people lose their homes to relentlessly escalating property taxes. The legislators of both parties who participate in these games are reprehensible and need to be removed from office in November wherever possible.
I’m sorry for the rant, but I believe that it’s important that you understand the challenge we’re facing in our fight to eliminate school property taxes and the need to eliminate the jobs of the lawmakers who manipulate the legislative process at the expense of our financial security.
That’s the current situation. Except for the possibility of passage for HB 2199, don’t expect anything of any value to happen before the election – we must now set our sights on the new legislative session in 2009. In the meantime, we’ll refocus our efforts to try to defeat in November those politicians who oppose true property tax reform through elimination. The PTCC and PCTA will be issuing a voters’ guide in a few weeks.
We WILL win this battle but we must be patient and persistent. Don’t become discouraged and don’t give up!
Building Momentum
On a brighter note, the school property tax bills that were mailed in early July have many folks very upset. Not only have many school districts substantially raised property taxes but the promised “relief” from gambling money was exceedingly paltry in most districts. In fact, in many of these districts the “relief” was completely negated by increased property taxes. These factors have caused much discontent and have helped to rally support for our efforts.
The PTCC subscriber list has increased by more than 400 in the past four weeks, PTCC website hits are up by more than 90%, and our statewide organization, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA), has added two new taxpayer advocacy groups for a total of 29. Our momentum is building quickly and all of the new supporters will be a huge help!
The two new PCTA member groups are:
AVCANS (Allegheny Valley Citizens Against New School) from Allegheny County
AVCANS was organized to fight a non-responsive school board. The Allegheny Valley SD board insists on building an unnecessary new school over the objections of the taxpayers, adding $24 million in debt. As an example of the arrogance of this school board, here’s a quote from the AVCANS website:
“To show you how the board feels about increasing taxes, a comment made by Mr. Redman, Board President, says it all. When a citizen pointed out the fact that many senior citizens on fixed incomes are losing their homes because of increased taxes, Mr. Redman said, "good, maybe when they move out we can get people in there to pay taxes". Such an insensitive and callous statement shows no concern for the taxpayers of this district.”
Oxford Area Taxpayers Alliance from Chester County
This group has a huge challenge. This year the Oxford board raised their homeowners’ property taxes by 14% (the largest increase in Chester County) and has predicted a 12% increase for next year. To add insult to injury, immediately following the announcement of this year's increase the board gave the Oxford superintendent a $50,000 salary increase that was not a part of her contract. Due in no small part to OATA’s advocacy the superintendent’s raise was rescinded and she resigned last month!
The PCTA extends a hearty “WELCOME!” to AVCANS and OATA as a part of our statewide coalition. We’re sure that they will be a great asset to our property tax elimination efforts! The complete list of PCTA members is available under the “About the PCTA” tab on the PTCC home page at http://www.ptcc.us.
If you’d like to organize a group in your area and become a member of the PCTA, please contact any PCTA member group or write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com. The PCTA members will be pleased to assist you in any way possible.
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That’s all for now. Look for another update in a few weeks as the legislature re-convenes in September and we get closer to the election.
If you have comments about today’s update, please add them to the PTCC blog – the link to the blog is available from the PTCC home page. Please don’t be hesitant to share your thoughts!
My thanks to all of you for your continuing support and for all of the effort that you’ve put forth in support of property tax elimination. It is greatly appreciated.
For the cause,
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Dear Friends,
This is the first PTCC update in quite a while because there has not been much happening in Harrisburg since the budget was completed. I’ll try to bring you up to date on what has transpired since then.
HB 1275
The plan to attach the School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) language as an amendment to the education funding bill fell apart when the bill was the last to be debated as part of the budget. Whether this happened by chance or by the House leadership’s design, it was too late to debate 1275 and the amendment would almost certainly have failed.
Representative Sam Rohrer has now filed a discharge resolution to force HB 1275 out of the Appropriations Committee where it has been bottled up by the Democratic leadership since last year. This action will force the bill onto the floor for debate sometime during the September/October session but it’s doubtful that there will be enough time remaining before the election to take any substantive action on the bill.
HB 2199
However, it has been reported that Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese has promised Democratic Representative Tom Yewcic that HB 2199, his companion bill to HB 1275 that calls for a constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes, will be allowed to the floor for debate. This is an uncomplicated bill that could possibly be approved by both the House and Senate before the election and would be a substantial step toward elimination during the new 2009-2010 legislative session. We’ll have more plans for the promotion of HB 2199 as more information becomes available.
Perzel vs. Levdansky, AKA the Rs vs. the Ds
Another property tax bill may possibly come to the floor of the House for debate in September. This bill is our old friend HB 1600 and has quite a story that I’m sure will infuriate you. The circumstances surrounding HB 1600 demonstrate how little regard some members of the General Assembly have for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.
Do you remember the original HB 1600 that was promoted by Democratic Representative David Levdansky? It called for a 0.5% increase in the sales tax and a 0.22% increase in the income tax for an approximate $400 property tax reduction and was the Democratic leadership’s preferred vehicle for property tax “relief”. The PTCC and PCTA opposed this bill because of the temporary relief it offered while imposing two new taxes.
The Levdansky version of 1600 was defeated in January 2008 by a gut-and-replace amendment that was written by Philadelphia Republican Representative John Perzel. This amendment completely removed Levdansky’s original language and replaced it with a proposal to eliminate property taxes for seniors over 65 earning less than $40,000 by using all available slot machine revenue. This is a very popular stance but the bill doesn’t work financially – the demand for relief will quickly increase as more baby boomers retire and property taxes increase and the slots revenue will not be able to keep pace. But that really doesn’t matter since the amendment accomplished its goal…
Ding! Ding! Round one winner: Republicans. This was a score in the “R” column because the Perzel amendment defeated the Democrats’ plan.
After the Levdansky version of 1600 went down in flames the Democratic leadership panicked and returned all property tax bills to the Finance Committee (which is chaired by Representative Levdansky) to resign them to a slow death.
Suddenly on July 3 after a discharge resolution was filed by Representative Perzel, HB 1600 popped out of the Finance Committee with a new two part amendment that would freeze property taxes in 2009 and would force the General Assembly to eliminate property taxes by 2010. The bill is now in the Appropriations Committee.
The Democrats know that this bill has ZERO chance of passage by both the House and Senate because there is insufficient time before the election and, besides, probably would have problems anyway because the politicians wouldn’t want to back themselves into a corner by obligating themselves to achieve elimination by 2010. Knowing that this bill will die on the floor, they’ve effectively defeated the Perzel Republican version of HB 1600.
Ding! Ding! Round two winner: Democrats. Besides defeating Perzel by advancing an amendment that is sure to kill the bill, this move also gives them the ability to brag about their efforts for elimination just in time for the election - and they did just that in a recent House Democratic Caucus newsletter.
The real insult is a quote from Rep. Levdansky in the August 2 edition of the Connellsville Daily Courier: "My bill provides the ultimate in property tax relief -- it eliminates the tax entirely -- freezing millage rates next year will halt any tax increases before school property taxes would be eliminated in 2010”. What unabashed garbage!
During the property tax debate in January, Representative Jim Cox pointedly asked Representative Levdansky at least three times if he supports total property tax elimination; Levdansky avoided the question all three times. Now he suddenly is the champion of elimination? Where was this idea six months ago? The upcoming election wouldn’t have anything to do with his amazing change of heart, would it? This is nothing more than pure pandering. Why not support HB 1275 if you’re so intent on elimination, Representative Levdansky, and get the job done NOW?
Are you angry yet? You should be! These cynical political games are the primary focus of the leadership and many of the members of our dysfunctional legislature. And while they scheme and play them they don’t care in the least about doing the job for which they were elected – protecting and serving the people of Pennsylvania. While one party tries to beat the other, the taxpayers of Pennsylvania pay the price and good people lose their homes to relentlessly escalating property taxes. The legislators of both parties who participate in these games are reprehensible and need to be removed from office in November wherever possible.
I’m sorry for the rant, but I believe that it’s important that you understand the challenge we’re facing in our fight to eliminate school property taxes and the need to eliminate the jobs of the lawmakers who manipulate the legislative process at the expense of our financial security.
That’s the current situation. Except for the possibility of passage for HB 2199, don’t expect anything of any value to happen before the election – we must now set our sights on the new legislative session in 2009. In the meantime, we’ll refocus our efforts to try to defeat in November those politicians who oppose true property tax reform through elimination. The PTCC and PCTA will be issuing a voters’ guide in a few weeks.
We WILL win this battle but we must be patient and persistent. Don’t become discouraged and don’t give up!
Building Momentum
On a brighter note, the school property tax bills that were mailed in early July have many folks very upset. Not only have many school districts substantially raised property taxes but the promised “relief” from gambling money was exceedingly paltry in most districts. In fact, in many of these districts the “relief” was completely negated by increased property taxes. These factors have caused much discontent and have helped to rally support for our efforts.
The PTCC subscriber list has increased by more than 400 in the past four weeks, PTCC website hits are up by more than 90%, and our statewide organization, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA), has added two new taxpayer advocacy groups for a total of 29. Our momentum is building quickly and all of the new supporters will be a huge help!
The two new PCTA member groups are:
AVCANS (Allegheny Valley Citizens Against New School) from Allegheny County
AVCANS was organized to fight a non-responsive school board. The Allegheny Valley SD board insists on building an unnecessary new school over the objections of the taxpayers, adding $24 million in debt. As an example of the arrogance of this school board, here’s a quote from the AVCANS website:
“To show you how the board feels about increasing taxes, a comment made by Mr. Redman, Board President, says it all. When a citizen pointed out the fact that many senior citizens on fixed incomes are losing their homes because of increased taxes, Mr. Redman said, "good, maybe when they move out we can get people in there to pay taxes". Such an insensitive and callous statement shows no concern for the taxpayers of this district.”
Oxford Area Taxpayers Alliance from Chester County
This group has a huge challenge. This year the Oxford board raised their homeowners’ property taxes by 14% (the largest increase in Chester County) and has predicted a 12% increase for next year. To add insult to injury, immediately following the announcement of this year's increase the board gave the Oxford superintendent a $50,000 salary increase that was not a part of her contract. Due in no small part to OATA’s advocacy the superintendent’s raise was rescinded and she resigned last month!
The PCTA extends a hearty “WELCOME!” to AVCANS and OATA as a part of our statewide coalition. We’re sure that they will be a great asset to our property tax elimination efforts! The complete list of PCTA members is available under the “About the PCTA” tab on the PTCC home page at http://www.ptcc.us.
If you’d like to organize a group in your area and become a member of the PCTA, please contact any PCTA member group or write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com. The PCTA members will be pleased to assist you in any way possible.
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That’s all for now. Look for another update in a few weeks as the legislature re-convenes in September and we get closer to the election.
If you have comments about today’s update, please add them to the PTCC blog – the link to the blog is available from the PTCC home page. Please don’t be hesitant to share your thoughts!
My thanks to all of you for your continuing support and for all of the effort that you’ve put forth in support of property tax elimination. It is greatly appreciated.
For the cause,
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
The Rally and Your Help!
08 June 2008
Dear Friends,
The “Save Our Homes” rally was held on June 2 in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg and was, by most accounts, a huge success. We had a great turnout of enthusiastic homeowners and lawmakers from both parties and our voices were heard loudly and clearly.
The media coverage was somewhat spotty and sometimes was tremendously inaccurate but we still had quite a bit of favorable coverage and a few good editorials.
A recap of the rally that includes photos, a complete video of the event, and media coverage has been posted on the PTCC website at http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/rally060208.htm. Please take a few minutes to check it out and, if you have the forty minutes to spare, please watch the video – it contains a lot of good messages.
The rally was a terrific starting point but we need intensive follow-up over the next few weeks to hammer the message home. Here are the details:
If the rally is insufficient to motivate the House Democratic Leadership to report HB 1275 out of the Appropriations Committee, Representative Sam Rohrer intends to again attach the bill’s language as an amendment to one of the budget bills that must be debated during June. I’ll be sending another update about this when details become available.
HB 1275 has undergone two major revisions from the version that was debated in January. The sales tax has been eliminated for five major retail professional services – legal, accounting, architecture, engineering, and computer – to blunt the intense lobbying, mostly from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, that helped to kill the bill in January. The revised version of HB 1275 also offers no property tax reduction for commercial properties but caps their taxes at current levels. This was another major hurdle that couldn’t be overcome in January.
The bottom line is that all of the major objections to the School Property Tax Elimination Act have been addressed and the politicians have NO MORE EXCUSES for not passing this bill.
I have just one short story to tell you. At the rally one lawmaker told me that I should tell all HB 1275 supporters to let their representative know that the sales tax has been removed from food and clothing. I was taken aback by this comment, as the provision for taxing food and clothing was eliminated from HB 1275 over a year ago. Nevertheless, he said that some of his colleagues told him in January that they would not vote for HB 1275 because it taxes food and clothing!
At first I was flabbergasted by this but my reaction quickly turned to outrage and tremendous anger. For whatever reason, these politicians voted against a bill that they didn’t even understand! If they are so blatantly ignorant of the provisions of a bill that is so urgently needed, if they are so lazy that they can’t take the time necessary to learn about such vital legislation, they do not deserve to be representing us.
The June vote on HB 1275 will be a litmus test for the November elections. Both the PTCC and the PCTA, along with several newspapers, are advocating the ouster of any lawmaker who votes against this bill. It is time to let the politicians know that we will stand for no more delays, no more political games, and no more excuses. They must be sternly warned that their jobs will be on the line in November if they again refuse the will of the people that they supposedly represent.
** ACTION ITEM **
The key to passage of HB 1275 is not only your own representative but the House leadership of both parties. It is the leadership who tells their members how to vote on an issue and all will follow these leaders like sheep except for the few courageous, independent lawmakers who deserve our thanks.
During the next week or so, please telephone, write, or e-mail your representative to let him or her know that you strongly support HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and that you expect them to vote for this bill when debate begins in June. You can locate your representative’s contact information from the “Find Your Legislators” link in the left column of any PTCC webpage.
In addition, please contact the House leaders listed below my signature to firmly tell them that you want HB 1275 enacted NOW. These leaders can make all the difference in the passage of this legislation and it is very important to tell them your feelings.
The June debate will offer us another opportunity to make HB 1275 a reality and your help is urgently needed. Please do all you can top spread the word to everyone you know and to tell the politicians that we want action NOW.
Thank you so much for your continuing support! Please feel free to write to me at any time with comments or questions.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
www.ptcc.us
Republican Caucus Leader:
Hon. Samuel H. Smith
527 East Mahoning Street
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-4225
Fax: (814) 938-1950
ssmith@pahousegop.com
Democratic Caucus Leader:
Hon. H. William DeWeese
222 Elm Drive
Suite 101, P.O. Box 832
Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 627-8683
Fax: (724) 627-6043
wdeweese@pahouse.net
Democratic Caucus Whip:
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
kmccall@pahouse.net
Dear Friends,
The “Save Our Homes” rally was held on June 2 in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg and was, by most accounts, a huge success. We had a great turnout of enthusiastic homeowners and lawmakers from both parties and our voices were heard loudly and clearly.
The media coverage was somewhat spotty and sometimes was tremendously inaccurate but we still had quite a bit of favorable coverage and a few good editorials.
A recap of the rally that includes photos, a complete video of the event, and media coverage has been posted on the PTCC website at http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/rally060208.htm. Please take a few minutes to check it out and, if you have the forty minutes to spare, please watch the video – it contains a lot of good messages.
The rally was a terrific starting point but we need intensive follow-up over the next few weeks to hammer the message home. Here are the details:
If the rally is insufficient to motivate the House Democratic Leadership to report HB 1275 out of the Appropriations Committee, Representative Sam Rohrer intends to again attach the bill’s language as an amendment to one of the budget bills that must be debated during June. I’ll be sending another update about this when details become available.
HB 1275 has undergone two major revisions from the version that was debated in January. The sales tax has been eliminated for five major retail professional services – legal, accounting, architecture, engineering, and computer – to blunt the intense lobbying, mostly from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, that helped to kill the bill in January. The revised version of HB 1275 also offers no property tax reduction for commercial properties but caps their taxes at current levels. This was another major hurdle that couldn’t be overcome in January.
The bottom line is that all of the major objections to the School Property Tax Elimination Act have been addressed and the politicians have NO MORE EXCUSES for not passing this bill.
I have just one short story to tell you. At the rally one lawmaker told me that I should tell all HB 1275 supporters to let their representative know that the sales tax has been removed from food and clothing. I was taken aback by this comment, as the provision for taxing food and clothing was eliminated from HB 1275 over a year ago. Nevertheless, he said that some of his colleagues told him in January that they would not vote for HB 1275 because it taxes food and clothing!
At first I was flabbergasted by this but my reaction quickly turned to outrage and tremendous anger. For whatever reason, these politicians voted against a bill that they didn’t even understand! If they are so blatantly ignorant of the provisions of a bill that is so urgently needed, if they are so lazy that they can’t take the time necessary to learn about such vital legislation, they do not deserve to be representing us.
The June vote on HB 1275 will be a litmus test for the November elections. Both the PTCC and the PCTA, along with several newspapers, are advocating the ouster of any lawmaker who votes against this bill. It is time to let the politicians know that we will stand for no more delays, no more political games, and no more excuses. They must be sternly warned that their jobs will be on the line in November if they again refuse the will of the people that they supposedly represent.
** ACTION ITEM **
The key to passage of HB 1275 is not only your own representative but the House leadership of both parties. It is the leadership who tells their members how to vote on an issue and all will follow these leaders like sheep except for the few courageous, independent lawmakers who deserve our thanks.
During the next week or so, please telephone, write, or e-mail your representative to let him or her know that you strongly support HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and that you expect them to vote for this bill when debate begins in June. You can locate your representative’s contact information from the “Find Your Legislators” link in the left column of any PTCC webpage.
In addition, please contact the House leaders listed below my signature to firmly tell them that you want HB 1275 enacted NOW. These leaders can make all the difference in the passage of this legislation and it is very important to tell them your feelings.
The June debate will offer us another opportunity to make HB 1275 a reality and your help is urgently needed. Please do all you can top spread the word to everyone you know and to tell the politicians that we want action NOW.
Thank you so much for your continuing support! Please feel free to write to me at any time with comments or questions.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
www.ptcc.us
Republican Caucus Leader:
Hon. Samuel H. Smith
527 East Mahoning Street
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-4225
Fax: (814) 938-1950
ssmith@pahousegop.com
Democratic Caucus Leader:
Hon. H. William DeWeese
222 Elm Drive
Suite 101, P.O. Box 832
Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 627-8683
Fax: (724) 627-6043
wdeweese@pahouse.net
Democratic Caucus Whip:
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
kmccall@pahouse.net
Join the Tax Rally!
20 May 2008
Property Tax Elimination Rally!
Dear Friends,
This is just a short note today to remind you about the school property tax elimination rally that will be held in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg on Monday, June 2, from 11:00 AM – Noon. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to take our demands to the unwilling politicians in their own house and to meet and show our support for those lawmakers who understand this vital issue and are who are working for us.
This is shaping up to be a terrific event with a number of great speakers and a lot of taxpayer participation. To make the greatest impression on reluctant lawmakers we need as many folks as possible to attend to voice their support for HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act.
Please do all that you can to join in this event and please help to spread the word to others who will be willing to attend. The time for action is NOW!
For those of you who might need transportation to the rally there are a number of bus trips planned in east and central Pennsylvania that still have seats available. This is a convenient way to get to the capitol and to establish camaraderie with others who are working for true education finance reform. A list of available buses and contact names are listed below my signature; all are $20 or less depending on location and will be reserved on a first-come basis.
Please feel free to contact me with comments or questions at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
I hope to meet all of you on June 2!
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Pottstown Area:
Bus will be leaving from the Wal-Mart in the Pottstown Center on Shoemaker Road at 8:30 AM. Contact Gene Endress of the PCTA’s Owen J. Roberts taxpayer group at gendre1@comcast.net.
Reading Area:
Bus will be leaving from the K-Mart at Rt. 222 and Rt. 724, Shillington, at 8:30 AM. Contact David Baldinger of the PTCC at taxrally@mail.com.
Lancaster County Area:
Bus for the Eastern Lancaster County/Western Chester County area will be leaving from the Christiana Fire House at 8:30 AM with a pickup stop in Lancaster city. Contact John McCartney of the PCTA’s CLASTA group at johnjhere30@comcast.net.
York County Area:
Bus will leave from the Southeastern York County area (Delta, Fawn Grove, Peach Bottom) with a pickup stop near York City. Contact Margie Lavin of the PCTA’s SETRC group at info@setrc.net or Warren Bulette of the PCTA’s YCTC group at bulette@juno.com.
Property Tax Elimination Rally!
Dear Friends,
This is just a short note today to remind you about the school property tax elimination rally that will be held in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg on Monday, June 2, from 11:00 AM – Noon. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to take our demands to the unwilling politicians in their own house and to meet and show our support for those lawmakers who understand this vital issue and are who are working for us.
This is shaping up to be a terrific event with a number of great speakers and a lot of taxpayer participation. To make the greatest impression on reluctant lawmakers we need as many folks as possible to attend to voice their support for HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act.
Please do all that you can to join in this event and please help to spread the word to others who will be willing to attend. The time for action is NOW!
For those of you who might need transportation to the rally there are a number of bus trips planned in east and central Pennsylvania that still have seats available. This is a convenient way to get to the capitol and to establish camaraderie with others who are working for true education finance reform. A list of available buses and contact names are listed below my signature; all are $20 or less depending on location and will be reserved on a first-come basis.
Please feel free to contact me with comments or questions at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
I hope to meet all of you on June 2!
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Pottstown Area:
Bus will be leaving from the Wal-Mart in the Pottstown Center on Shoemaker Road at 8:30 AM. Contact Gene Endress of the PCTA’s Owen J. Roberts taxpayer group at gendre1@comcast.net.
Reading Area:
Bus will be leaving from the K-Mart at Rt. 222 and Rt. 724, Shillington, at 8:30 AM. Contact David Baldinger of the PTCC at taxrally@mail.com.
Lancaster County Area:
Bus for the Eastern Lancaster County/Western Chester County area will be leaving from the Christiana Fire House at 8:30 AM with a pickup stop in Lancaster city. Contact John McCartney of the PCTA’s CLASTA group at johnjhere30@comcast.net.
York County Area:
Bus will leave from the Southeastern York County area (Delta, Fawn Grove, Peach Bottom) with a pickup stop near York City. Contact Margie Lavin of the PCTA’s SETRC group at info@setrc.net or Warren Bulette of the PCTA’s YCTC group at bulette@juno.com.
Property Tax Rally!
02 May 2008
Property Tax Rally!
Dear Friends,
PLEASE forward this site to as many folks as possible!
The time is NOW to vigorously show the Harrisburg politicians how we feel about school property tax elimination. More on that in a moment.
First, on May 1 the state issued its chart for gambling-funded property tax relief for each school district; it is available on the PTCC website here.
For many of Pennsylvania homeowners the amount of reduction in their property taxes through this measure will be less than this year’s school property tax increase. How did you fare with this “relief”?
Now for the real purpose of this post.
On Monday, June 2, 2008 from 11:00 AM to Noon in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg there will be a school property tax elimination rally in support of House Bill 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, the legislation that is endorsed by the PTCC and the 26 PCTA taxpayer groups statewide. The timing of this rally is meant to coincide with the budget debate that will be in progress then, ensuring that all members of the General Assembly will be in Harrisburg to receive our message.
While the agenda has not yet been finalized, it is expected that a large number of current lawmakers and candidates will be in attendance along with community, business, and school leaders and taxpayer advocates. Following the rally the PTCC and FreedomWorks will be issuing an “Honor Roll” listing all lawmakers, candidates, and community leaders who show their support for school property tax elimination by attending this rally.
The purpose of the rally is to do our best to send a very strong message to the legislature that we are tired of their procrastination and expect action to eliminate school property taxes NOW. This is a major event and a large turnout of supporters will help to focus media attention on this issue and increase public awareness and support.
Your help is needed to spread the word about the rally and, perhaps, to organize folks in your area and arrange transportation to Harrisburg. This is a one-time event that is VERY IMPORTANT, so if you're willing to help PLEASE try to find as many folks as possible to attend - use carpools, limo buses, full-sized buses, any way possible to get people to the rally.
Further details will be posted on the PTCC website during the next few days.
If you live in Berks County, the PTCC will be organizing a bus trip to the Capitol for Berks area residents. The approximate cost is $20 per person. If you’re interested in joining this trip for the rally, please send an e-mail by May 11 to taxrally@mail.com with your name, address, and telephone number. If enough folks respond by May 11 to fill a charter bus (or buses!), I’ll send you a return e-mail with the details of the trip and method of payment. I’m sorry that the PTCC can’t pay for this trip but since we don’t accept donations we have no way to fund it.
You are encouraged to add your comments about this letter by clicking on the "Comments" link below this post.
That’s all for now. Please do all that you can to publicize this event and please attend if at all possible!
Thanks to all of you for your continuing support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Property Tax Rally!
Dear Friends,
PLEASE forward this site to as many folks as possible!
The time is NOW to vigorously show the Harrisburg politicians how we feel about school property tax elimination. More on that in a moment.
First, on May 1 the state issued its chart for gambling-funded property tax relief for each school district; it is available on the PTCC website here.
For many of Pennsylvania homeowners the amount of reduction in their property taxes through this measure will be less than this year’s school property tax increase. How did you fare with this “relief”?
Now for the real purpose of this post.
On Monday, June 2, 2008 from 11:00 AM to Noon in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg there will be a school property tax elimination rally in support of House Bill 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, the legislation that is endorsed by the PTCC and the 26 PCTA taxpayer groups statewide. The timing of this rally is meant to coincide with the budget debate that will be in progress then, ensuring that all members of the General Assembly will be in Harrisburg to receive our message.
While the agenda has not yet been finalized, it is expected that a large number of current lawmakers and candidates will be in attendance along with community, business, and school leaders and taxpayer advocates. Following the rally the PTCC and FreedomWorks will be issuing an “Honor Roll” listing all lawmakers, candidates, and community leaders who show their support for school property tax elimination by attending this rally.
The purpose of the rally is to do our best to send a very strong message to the legislature that we are tired of their procrastination and expect action to eliminate school property taxes NOW. This is a major event and a large turnout of supporters will help to focus media attention on this issue and increase public awareness and support.
Your help is needed to spread the word about the rally and, perhaps, to organize folks in your area and arrange transportation to Harrisburg. This is a one-time event that is VERY IMPORTANT, so if you're willing to help PLEASE try to find as many folks as possible to attend - use carpools, limo buses, full-sized buses, any way possible to get people to the rally.
Further details will be posted on the PTCC website during the next few days.
If you live in Berks County, the PTCC will be organizing a bus trip to the Capitol for Berks area residents. The approximate cost is $20 per person. If you’re interested in joining this trip for the rally, please send an e-mail by May 11 to taxrally@mail.com with your name, address, and telephone number. If enough folks respond by May 11 to fill a charter bus (or buses!), I’ll send you a return e-mail with the details of the trip and method of payment. I’m sorry that the PTCC can’t pay for this trip but since we don’t accept donations we have no way to fund it.
You are encouraged to add your comments about this letter by clicking on the "Comments" link below this post.
That’s all for now. Please do all that you can to publicize this event and please attend if at all possible!
Thanks to all of you for your continuing support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
Homeowners speak out about property taxes!
20 April 2008
Dear Friends,
In late March, PTCC subscribers and others were asked to send us their real-life stories telling how relentlessly increasing school property taxes are affecting their quality of life. The response to this request was overwhelming; the letters starkly demonstrate the frustration, fear, hopelessness, and anger that are widespread throughout Pennsylvania over the lawmakers’ inaction in addressing the issue. These stories also demonstrate that halfway measures like HB 1600 will not get the job done - ONLY elimination will do.
The Harrisburg politicians who refuse to support elimination MUST be shown that their inaction is jeopardizing the welfare and the lives of many thousands of Pennsylvanians; they MUST understand that what they are doing (or not doing) is destroying the future for good, honest people who only want to live their lives without the fear of financial ruin.
If the lawmakers truly care about the homeowners of this state, they will consider carefully these letters that clearly show them the REAL faces of the property tax issue and how their political games are affecting the lives of REAL people!
You can read these stories in the compilation posted on the PTCC website at http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/stories.htm; they will be submitted to the Harrisburg politicians during the next few weeks.
To all of you who contributed to this compilation, please accept our heartfelt thanks for your efforts. If you have a story that you'd like to share, please send it to pataxpayers@gmail.com and we'll add it to the compilation.
One more note…
Many Harrisburg politicians continue to promote their despicable deception that they have brought homeowners property tax “relief” through gambling revenues.
As you are probably aware, state Budget Secretary Michael J. Masch announced earlier this week that gambling revenues will provide an average $169 property tax rebate in 2008. Mr. Masch also said that this would be a 10% reduction for homeowners and that this event marks the beginning of “historic” property tax relief in Pennsylvania.
On Thursday (4/17/08) the House Democratic Caucus, in an e-mail update, said this:
Homeowners to take home $600 million jackpot.
The House Democrats’ years of effort to provide all Pennsylvania homeowners substantial and sustainable property tax relief will begin paying off this summer. Pennsylvania’s budget secretary this week certified that the state’s slot machine facilities have now produced enough revenue to begin reducing property taxes – more than $600 million for homeowners statewide.
House Democrats led the charge and supplied the majority of votes to launch property tax relief for homeowners through slot machine gaming.
$169? 10%? Substantial and sustainable? Historic? GIVE ME A BREAK!
The statements above from Mr. Masch and the HDC simply emphasize what we already know – that the spineless politicians who do not support school property tax elimination have no respect for the taxpayers, think that we are stupid and ill-informed, and believe they can make us complacent by continually feeding us this propaganda.
Remember that $169 is an average. That means many of you will receive far less than this amount because of the distribution formula. The residents of many districts will receive as little as $80-$90, there are some that will receive about $50, and there is even one school district where the residents receive nothing. And I’ll bet that for most of you that rebate will come nowhere near 10% of your school property tax bill. Yep, that’s historic!
Remember, too, that a big chunk of the ballyhooed $600 million in “relief” comes from one-time casino licensing fees that will not be repeated in future years and that slots revenues have shrunken in recent months because of the failing economy. So much for “substantial and sustainable”!
Finally, if you’re expecting a rebate check, forget it. Your “relief” will come as a deduction on your July school property tax bill, just in time to be eaten away by increased property taxes.
All of this brings us to one conclusion: We must vote out of office all lawmakers of both parties who put the special interests and their own personal welfare ahead of those of their constituents by refusing to support school property tax elimination. The primary election is Tuesday; before deciding who to support, please see how your Representative voted when HB 1275 was debated in January 2008. The link to their voting record called “How They Voted” is on the PTCC home page in the “Latest News” column.
You are also encouraged to please voice your opinion about the taxpayers’ stories and the property tax “relief” announcement here on the PTCC blog.
The PTCC and PCTA thank you for your continuing support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us
pataxpayers@gmail.com
Dear Friends,
In late March, PTCC subscribers and others were asked to send us their real-life stories telling how relentlessly increasing school property taxes are affecting their quality of life. The response to this request was overwhelming; the letters starkly demonstrate the frustration, fear, hopelessness, and anger that are widespread throughout Pennsylvania over the lawmakers’ inaction in addressing the issue. These stories also demonstrate that halfway measures like HB 1600 will not get the job done - ONLY elimination will do.
The Harrisburg politicians who refuse to support elimination MUST be shown that their inaction is jeopardizing the welfare and the lives of many thousands of Pennsylvanians; they MUST understand that what they are doing (or not doing) is destroying the future for good, honest people who only want to live their lives without the fear of financial ruin.
If the lawmakers truly care about the homeowners of this state, they will consider carefully these letters that clearly show them the REAL faces of the property tax issue and how their political games are affecting the lives of REAL people!
You can read these stories in the compilation posted on the PTCC website at http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/stories.htm; they will be submitted to the Harrisburg politicians during the next few weeks.
To all of you who contributed to this compilation, please accept our heartfelt thanks for your efforts. If you have a story that you'd like to share, please send it to pataxpayers@gmail.com and we'll add it to the compilation.
One more note…
Many Harrisburg politicians continue to promote their despicable deception that they have brought homeowners property tax “relief” through gambling revenues.
As you are probably aware, state Budget Secretary Michael J. Masch announced earlier this week that gambling revenues will provide an average $169 property tax rebate in 2008. Mr. Masch also said that this would be a 10% reduction for homeowners and that this event marks the beginning of “historic” property tax relief in Pennsylvania.
On Thursday (4/17/08) the House Democratic Caucus, in an e-mail update, said this:
Homeowners to take home $600 million jackpot.
The House Democrats’ years of effort to provide all Pennsylvania homeowners substantial and sustainable property tax relief will begin paying off this summer. Pennsylvania’s budget secretary this week certified that the state’s slot machine facilities have now produced enough revenue to begin reducing property taxes – more than $600 million for homeowners statewide.
House Democrats led the charge and supplied the majority of votes to launch property tax relief for homeowners through slot machine gaming.
$169? 10%? Substantial and sustainable? Historic? GIVE ME A BREAK!
The statements above from Mr. Masch and the HDC simply emphasize what we already know – that the spineless politicians who do not support school property tax elimination have no respect for the taxpayers, think that we are stupid and ill-informed, and believe they can make us complacent by continually feeding us this propaganda.
Remember that $169 is an average. That means many of you will receive far less than this amount because of the distribution formula. The residents of many districts will receive as little as $80-$90, there are some that will receive about $50, and there is even one school district where the residents receive nothing. And I’ll bet that for most of you that rebate will come nowhere near 10% of your school property tax bill. Yep, that’s historic!
Remember, too, that a big chunk of the ballyhooed $600 million in “relief” comes from one-time casino licensing fees that will not be repeated in future years and that slots revenues have shrunken in recent months because of the failing economy. So much for “substantial and sustainable”!
Finally, if you’re expecting a rebate check, forget it. Your “relief” will come as a deduction on your July school property tax bill, just in time to be eaten away by increased property taxes.
All of this brings us to one conclusion: We must vote out of office all lawmakers of both parties who put the special interests and their own personal welfare ahead of those of their constituents by refusing to support school property tax elimination. The primary election is Tuesday; before deciding who to support, please see how your Representative voted when HB 1275 was debated in January 2008. The link to their voting record called “How They Voted” is on the PTCC home page in the “Latest News” column.
You are also encouraged to please voice your opinion about the taxpayers’ stories and the property tax “relief” announcement here on the PTCC blog.
The PTCC and PCTA thank you for your continuing support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us
pataxpayers@gmail.com
Action Item - The Real Faces of the Issue
24 March 2008
Dear Friends,
I recently came across a quote from former Virginia Governor Mark Warner that truly describes the political situation in Harrisburg: “Politics is the only business where doing nothing other than making the other guy look bad is an acceptable outcome.”
Governor Warner’s statement accurately describes the reason why the school property tax elimination issue continues in limbo in Harrisburg: self-serving political gamesmanship that ignores the needs of the people in favor of political gain. But if you’re willing to participate, today’s Action Item can be a great help in moving the property tax issue past the games and into the forefront of the Harrisburg agenda.
There have been recent announcements from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives where lawmakers tout their agenda for healthcare reform, energy reform, and leasing the turnpike - all designed to grab headlines before the elections. But NOTHING is being said about property tax reform because NOTHING is being done about what is probably the most urgent issue facing Pennsylvanians today.
It’s my opinion that many lawmakers tend to view these issues in the abstract, seeing them simply as pawns to be played on the chessboard of Harrisburg election year politics rather than considering how these problems affect the lives of the people that they supposedly represent.
It’s time to show the lawmakers the REAL faces of the property tax issue to let them know how their political games affect the lives of REAL people!
** ACTION ITEM **
The PTCC and PCTA are collecting real-life stories of folks who are in distress from relentlessly increasing school property taxes. These stories will be compiled into one document to be presented to legislative leaders and the governor as examples of how their procrastination on this issue is destroying the lives of Pennsylvania homeowners – both working families and retirees.
During the next few days PLEASE send a paragraph or two to the PTCC that tells how out-of-control school property taxes are affecting your and your family’s quality of life. You may sign the letter if you choose or submit it anonymously, but please at least indicate your county of residence. If you have neighbors or friends who are experiencing financial difficulties because of the property tax problem, please have them send their stories as well. Send your letters to pataxpayers@gmail.com; the compilation as submitted to the lawmakers will be posted on the PTCC website when it’s completed.
Here’s just one example:
Last week I received a call from a 71 year old widow who was forced to raid her tax savings fund to pay for fuel oil and now has no way to pay her property taxes. She keeps her thermostat at 56 degrees, basically lives in one room with a space heater, and has gone back to work cleaning houses so she can afford to buy food. This woman lives in a very modest house in a school district where last year the district was granted an exception to the Act 1 index and raised property taxes by 8.6%; they were granted an exception again this year and will increase taxes 6.7%. That's more than 15% in two years. This woman is despondent from the fear of losing her home and having no place to live.
Stories like this one are UNACCEPTABLE! These politicians MUST be shown that their inaction is jeopardizing the welfare and the lives of many thousands of Pennsylvanians; they MUST understand that what they are doing (or not doing) is destroying the future for good, honest people who only want to live their lives without the fear of financial ruin. Significant pressures above any that have ever been seen are affecting folks and this effort will help to get the information necessary to quantify this issue.
Finally, if you want further proof of the terrible tax situation in Pennsylvania, please read this article from Kiplinger’s Magazine that outlines the best and worst states for total tax burden on retirees. Guess which state is rated the worst? http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/RetirementandWills/P45875.asp
You can help to end this deplorable situation by responding to today’s Action Item – please take a few minutes to do so and feel free to also post your comments on the PTCC Blog site.
The taxpayers of Pennsylvania can no longer be ignored!
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to achieve honest, equitable school finance reform. Please work to enlist the help of your family, friends, and neighbors in this campaign so we can have an even larger base of support for the benefit of all Pennsylvania taxpayers and schoolchildren. Please forward this e-mail to as many folks as possible! The more hands, the better!
Your questions and concerns are always welcome – please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us/
Dear Friends,
I recently came across a quote from former Virginia Governor Mark Warner that truly describes the political situation in Harrisburg: “Politics is the only business where doing nothing other than making the other guy look bad is an acceptable outcome.”
Governor Warner’s statement accurately describes the reason why the school property tax elimination issue continues in limbo in Harrisburg: self-serving political gamesmanship that ignores the needs of the people in favor of political gain. But if you’re willing to participate, today’s Action Item can be a great help in moving the property tax issue past the games and into the forefront of the Harrisburg agenda.
There have been recent announcements from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives where lawmakers tout their agenda for healthcare reform, energy reform, and leasing the turnpike - all designed to grab headlines before the elections. But NOTHING is being said about property tax reform because NOTHING is being done about what is probably the most urgent issue facing Pennsylvanians today.
It’s my opinion that many lawmakers tend to view these issues in the abstract, seeing them simply as pawns to be played on the chessboard of Harrisburg election year politics rather than considering how these problems affect the lives of the people that they supposedly represent.
It’s time to show the lawmakers the REAL faces of the property tax issue to let them know how their political games affect the lives of REAL people!
** ACTION ITEM **
The PTCC and PCTA are collecting real-life stories of folks who are in distress from relentlessly increasing school property taxes. These stories will be compiled into one document to be presented to legislative leaders and the governor as examples of how their procrastination on this issue is destroying the lives of Pennsylvania homeowners – both working families and retirees.
During the next few days PLEASE send a paragraph or two to the PTCC that tells how out-of-control school property taxes are affecting your and your family’s quality of life. You may sign the letter if you choose or submit it anonymously, but please at least indicate your county of residence. If you have neighbors or friends who are experiencing financial difficulties because of the property tax problem, please have them send their stories as well. Send your letters to pataxpayers@gmail.com; the compilation as submitted to the lawmakers will be posted on the PTCC website when it’s completed.
Here’s just one example:
Last week I received a call from a 71 year old widow who was forced to raid her tax savings fund to pay for fuel oil and now has no way to pay her property taxes. She keeps her thermostat at 56 degrees, basically lives in one room with a space heater, and has gone back to work cleaning houses so she can afford to buy food. This woman lives in a very modest house in a school district where last year the district was granted an exception to the Act 1 index and raised property taxes by 8.6%; they were granted an exception again this year and will increase taxes 6.7%. That's more than 15% in two years. This woman is despondent from the fear of losing her home and having no place to live.
Stories like this one are UNACCEPTABLE! These politicians MUST be shown that their inaction is jeopardizing the welfare and the lives of many thousands of Pennsylvanians; they MUST understand that what they are doing (or not doing) is destroying the future for good, honest people who only want to live their lives without the fear of financial ruin. Significant pressures above any that have ever been seen are affecting folks and this effort will help to get the information necessary to quantify this issue.
Finally, if you want further proof of the terrible tax situation in Pennsylvania, please read this article from Kiplinger’s Magazine that outlines the best and worst states for total tax burden on retirees. Guess which state is rated the worst? http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/RetirementandWills/P45875.asp
You can help to end this deplorable situation by responding to today’s Action Item – please take a few minutes to do so and feel free to also post your comments on the PTCC Blog site.
The taxpayers of Pennsylvania can no longer be ignored!
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to achieve honest, equitable school finance reform. Please work to enlist the help of your family, friends, and neighbors in this campaign so we can have an even larger base of support for the benefit of all Pennsylvania taxpayers and schoolchildren. Please forward this e-mail to as many folks as possible! The more hands, the better!
Your questions and concerns are always welcome – please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us/
Petty Politics = NOWHERE!
Dear Friends,
During the past week or so a substantial number of PTCC subscribers have written to me to ask where the school property tax elimination issue is headed.
In a word, NOWHERE.
Here's the status of every bill that's being considered - HB 1275, HB 1600 (2 versions), and HB 1489.
HB 1275, the bill supported by the PTCC and the PCTA, is still bottled up in the Appropriations Committee. Because Rep. Sam Rohrer couldn't get HB 1275 out of committee, he attached the language of HB 1275 as an amendment to HB 1600; unfortunately, it was defeated by political maneuvering and intense lobbyist pressure.
HB 1489, the 1/2% increase in the sales tax for an approximate $200 rebate has not yet been considered but indications are that it will probably be defeated if it is returned to the House floor.
The original version of HB 1600 opposed by the PTCC and PCTA and promoted by Rep. David Levdansky (D-Allegheny) that called for a 1/2% increase in the sales tax and a 0.22% increase in the income tax for an approximate $400 rebate, is DEAD. The language of this bill was totally replaced by an amendment from Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) that gives ALL casino proceeds to those over 65 who earn less than $40,000 annually.
When their pride and joy, the Levdansky version of HB 1600, went down in flames, the Democratic House leadership panicked, went into total meltdown and quickly returned all property tax bills to committee. Even though they were garbage, the Democrats were counting on HB 1600 or HB 1489 to meet their promises for property tax “relief”. With neither of their pet bills viable and no fallback position, the Democratic leadership is in complete confusion.
It is possible that the Democratic leadership might try to do something during budget negotiations in March or April but at this point we have no indication whatsoever of when they will resume debate on property taxes. My feeling is that they will have to do SOMETHING before the election in November or take a huge risk that they’ll be hammered for not giving any of the property tax “relief” that they’ve promised for so long.
Summary:
HB 1600 (Levdansky version): Dead
HB 1600 (Perzel version): Finance Committee
HB 1489: Finance Committee
HB 1275: Appropriations Committee
Since HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, was never debated as a bill but only as an amendment, it could still be brought to the floor for debate. If the Democrats get desperate enough they might just be willing to try to cut a deal with Rep. Rohrer to get 1275 to the floor. They have nothing else to offer, they've been promising property tax relief for three years, and now they’re facing an election with nothing accomplished. We'll see what happens.
It is almost a certainty that the Perzel version of HB 1600 will never be reported out of committee. The Democrat leaders do not want this bill passed, period. On the other hand, the Republicans (particularly Republican floor leader Rep. Sam Smith and Rep. Perzel) apparently don’t want to deal with this issue at all and reportedly don’t really care if the bill is ever released because they would consider it a win over the Democrats if the bill never came out of committee. All of this maneuvering has absolutely nothing to do with property tax reform - it’s all about the politics and which party wins or loses.
And THAT’S the real issue we’re facing right now. These legislators are playing their self-serving political games with no consideration whatsoever for the taxpayers who continue to suffer under the burden of oppressive school property taxes. The debate on these bills was loaded with distortions, omissions and just plain lies meant to justify lawmakers’ positions while they attempted to deceive the voters for political gain.
There is only one answer to this problem: during this election year, ELIMINATE the jobs of all lawmakers who refuse to support school property tax elimination through HB 1275, regardless of political party, and ignore their petty, politically-motivated excuses! The PTCC will be actively working against any incumbent or challenger who refuses to support this measure, starting with the House floor leadership – Rep. Sam Smith (R-Jefferson) and Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Greene). Both of these leaders have opposed true education finance reform; both have challengers during this election and are vulnerable.
Tony Phyrillas of the Pottstown Mercury holds hope for true reform through the elimination of obstructive leaders who control their caucus members’ votes. As Tony recently stated in his blog: “Voters will have an opportunity to knock off captains and colonels and even some generals in 2008. If you cut off the head of the snake, you can kill it.” Tony is right on the mark – we must work to eliminate offending lawmakers in each district while also concentrating on these leaders.
Here are three resources to help you find offending lawmakers and their challengers:
If you don’t know your Representative’s name or district, you can find the information by Zip+4 here.
Next, see how your Representative voted when HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, was debated as an amendment. The voting record is here.
Finally, the complete list of those running for office in 2008, both incumbents and challengers, is here by district.
When making your decision on how to vote in the upcoming elections, please try to ignore your party affiliation – there are candidates of both parties who will support our goals and these are the people who deserve our vote. There are also legislators of both parties who are responsible for the gridlock on this issue and I regard with equal contempt all of those who oppose true reform, regardless of political party. I hope that you will, too.
Otherwise, there isn’t a lot to be done immediately except to keep this issue on the front burner with letters to the editor and calls to radio talk shows. An occasional letter to your legislator will continue to help but mass e-mails are of little value while nothing is happening in the House.
I’ll keep you updated when there’s any new information.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PTCC Blog
Please feel free to add your comments on the current pathetic state of this issue at the bottom of this blog entry.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New PTCC Website
The PTCC website has been totally redesigned to make navigation easier and to give the site a fresher, more contemporary look. If you haven’t visited the website recently, please check out the new site and give it a test drive. http://www.ptcc.us.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New PCTA Member
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations has added its twenty-sixth member group! The latest group supporting our goals is the Ches-Lan Anti School Tax Payers Association (CLASTA), from eastern Chester/western Lancaster Counties. The leader and contact for this group is John McCartney, johnjhere30@comcast.net. Welcome, CLASTA!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to achieve honest, equitable school finance reform. Please work to enlist the help of your family, friends, and neighbors in this campaign so we can have an even larger base of support for the benefit of all Pennsylvania taxpayers and schoolchildren. Please forward this e-mail to as many folks as possible! The more hands, the better!
Your questions, comments, and concerns are always welcome – please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
During the past week or so a substantial number of PTCC subscribers have written to me to ask where the school property tax elimination issue is headed.
In a word, NOWHERE.
Here's the status of every bill that's being considered - HB 1275, HB 1600 (2 versions), and HB 1489.
HB 1275, the bill supported by the PTCC and the PCTA, is still bottled up in the Appropriations Committee. Because Rep. Sam Rohrer couldn't get HB 1275 out of committee, he attached the language of HB 1275 as an amendment to HB 1600; unfortunately, it was defeated by political maneuvering and intense lobbyist pressure.
HB 1489, the 1/2% increase in the sales tax for an approximate $200 rebate has not yet been considered but indications are that it will probably be defeated if it is returned to the House floor.
The original version of HB 1600 opposed by the PTCC and PCTA and promoted by Rep. David Levdansky (D-Allegheny) that called for a 1/2% increase in the sales tax and a 0.22% increase in the income tax for an approximate $400 rebate, is DEAD. The language of this bill was totally replaced by an amendment from Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) that gives ALL casino proceeds to those over 65 who earn less than $40,000 annually.
When their pride and joy, the Levdansky version of HB 1600, went down in flames, the Democratic House leadership panicked, went into total meltdown and quickly returned all property tax bills to committee. Even though they were garbage, the Democrats were counting on HB 1600 or HB 1489 to meet their promises for property tax “relief”. With neither of their pet bills viable and no fallback position, the Democratic leadership is in complete confusion.
It is possible that the Democratic leadership might try to do something during budget negotiations in March or April but at this point we have no indication whatsoever of when they will resume debate on property taxes. My feeling is that they will have to do SOMETHING before the election in November or take a huge risk that they’ll be hammered for not giving any of the property tax “relief” that they’ve promised for so long.
Summary:
HB 1600 (Levdansky version): Dead
HB 1600 (Perzel version): Finance Committee
HB 1489: Finance Committee
HB 1275: Appropriations Committee
Since HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, was never debated as a bill but only as an amendment, it could still be brought to the floor for debate. If the Democrats get desperate enough they might just be willing to try to cut a deal with Rep. Rohrer to get 1275 to the floor. They have nothing else to offer, they've been promising property tax relief for three years, and now they’re facing an election with nothing accomplished. We'll see what happens.
It is almost a certainty that the Perzel version of HB 1600 will never be reported out of committee. The Democrat leaders do not want this bill passed, period. On the other hand, the Republicans (particularly Republican floor leader Rep. Sam Smith and Rep. Perzel) apparently don’t want to deal with this issue at all and reportedly don’t really care if the bill is ever released because they would consider it a win over the Democrats if the bill never came out of committee. All of this maneuvering has absolutely nothing to do with property tax reform - it’s all about the politics and which party wins or loses.
And THAT’S the real issue we’re facing right now. These legislators are playing their self-serving political games with no consideration whatsoever for the taxpayers who continue to suffer under the burden of oppressive school property taxes. The debate on these bills was loaded with distortions, omissions and just plain lies meant to justify lawmakers’ positions while they attempted to deceive the voters for political gain.
There is only one answer to this problem: during this election year, ELIMINATE the jobs of all lawmakers who refuse to support school property tax elimination through HB 1275, regardless of political party, and ignore their petty, politically-motivated excuses! The PTCC will be actively working against any incumbent or challenger who refuses to support this measure, starting with the House floor leadership – Rep. Sam Smith (R-Jefferson) and Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Greene). Both of these leaders have opposed true education finance reform; both have challengers during this election and are vulnerable.
Tony Phyrillas of the Pottstown Mercury holds hope for true reform through the elimination of obstructive leaders who control their caucus members’ votes. As Tony recently stated in his blog: “Voters will have an opportunity to knock off captains and colonels and even some generals in 2008. If you cut off the head of the snake, you can kill it.” Tony is right on the mark – we must work to eliminate offending lawmakers in each district while also concentrating on these leaders.
Here are three resources to help you find offending lawmakers and their challengers:
If you don’t know your Representative’s name or district, you can find the information by Zip+4 here.
Next, see how your Representative voted when HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, was debated as an amendment. The voting record is here.
Finally, the complete list of those running for office in 2008, both incumbents and challengers, is here by district.
When making your decision on how to vote in the upcoming elections, please try to ignore your party affiliation – there are candidates of both parties who will support our goals and these are the people who deserve our vote. There are also legislators of both parties who are responsible for the gridlock on this issue and I regard with equal contempt all of those who oppose true reform, regardless of political party. I hope that you will, too.
Otherwise, there isn’t a lot to be done immediately except to keep this issue on the front burner with letters to the editor and calls to radio talk shows. An occasional letter to your legislator will continue to help but mass e-mails are of little value while nothing is happening in the House.
I’ll keep you updated when there’s any new information.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PTCC Blog
Please feel free to add your comments on the current pathetic state of this issue at the bottom of this blog entry.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New PTCC Website
The PTCC website has been totally redesigned to make navigation easier and to give the site a fresher, more contemporary look. If you haven’t visited the website recently, please check out the new site and give it a test drive. http://www.ptcc.us.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New PCTA Member
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations has added its twenty-sixth member group! The latest group supporting our goals is the Ches-Lan Anti School Tax Payers Association (CLASTA), from eastern Chester/western Lancaster Counties. The leader and contact for this group is John McCartney, johnjhere30@comcast.net. Welcome, CLASTA!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to achieve honest, equitable school finance reform. Please work to enlist the help of your family, friends, and neighbors in this campaign so we can have an even larger base of support for the benefit of all Pennsylvania taxpayers and schoolchildren. Please forward this e-mail to as many folks as possible! The more hands, the better!
Your questions, comments, and concerns are always welcome – please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
UPDATE - The week in review and the zoo in Harrisburg
02 February 2008
Dear Friends,
This week has been an absolute zoo in the state House of Representatives – and that analogy is insulting to the zoo animals!
Because the bill supported by the PTCC and PCTA, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA), was not allowed out of the House Appropriations Committee for a fair hearing by the majority leadership, its language was attached as an amendment to HB 1600 to ensure it would be debated.
Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated on Tuesday (1/29) mostly because the legislators bent to the will of the special interests and marched in lockstep with their caucus leaders.
If you want to see how your representative voted on the HB 1275 amendment, the complete voting list is here.
The Democratic Leadership was closely involved in the crafting of 1275 and had been negotiating with the prime sponsor, Rep. Rohrer, since last January. The negotiations were done in good faith and total transparency by Rep. Rohrer; many compromises were made for the Democrats, including the elimination of the 3% sales tax on food and clothing and retaining 50% of the property tax on businesses, both large and small. (The original bill called for 100% reduction for all entities so a constitutional amendment to the uniformity clause could be avoided.)
In the end, the Democratic Leadership refused to endorse the bill, mainly because Rep. Rohrer refused to retain ALL property taxes on business. Doing this would have delayed enactment by at least two years because a constitutional amendment would have been required under those circumstances.
In a PTCC poll conducted in early January, 92% of the respondents answered "No" to the question "If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to the reduction of school property taxes for business by 50%?" This information was sent to the Democratic Leadership but was ignored.
The Democratic-sponsored and highly-promoted House Bills 1600 and 1489 were both tax shifts for minor relief that were opposed by our statewide coalition (PCTA) because they would have been tax INCREASES for many Pennsylvanians. In the end, these were the only measures that the Democratic leadership would support, reportedly at the urging of the governor.
Some of the excuses from those who opposed HB 1275 (and my response):
If property taxes are eliminated there will be a mass migration to Pennsylvania and our infrastructure will be overwhelmed. (Nonsense. There is NO evidence of any kind that this will occur.)
We shouldn’t have to pay tax on attorney’s fees. (The PA Bar Association lobbied hard against HB 1275. Draw your own conclusions.)
The four year phase-in of HB 1275 will take too long. (The four year phase-in was necessary because you can’t just replace $8 billion in property taxes at the drop of a hat. There would have been no money available to do this.)
NO reduction of property taxes for business, even at 50%. Wal-Mart! Exxon! Casinos! (See the sixth paragraph, above. Even though 80% of Pennsylvania businesses are small business, all the opponents could scream about was the large businesses receiving a 50% reduction. The reduction of business property taxes was a major theme and a sleazy emotional ploy for the democrats, even though analysis said that such a reduction would generate approximately 100,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania each year.)
The people of Pennsylvania will start a revolution because of the new taxes! (Ridiculous. Let’s see… If my school property taxes are totally eliminated I’m going to have to pay $300-$500 or less in other taxes. What’s infuriating about that?)
It taxes funerals! (And your point is? If the average funeral costs $10,000 there would be an additional $600 tax. But until the day you die you’d pay NO school property tax. I’ll take that trade, too. This was more baseless emotional pandering.)
In short, the opponents’ arguments were nothing but lame excuses for not having the courage to oppose the special interests and their caucus leaders to do what is right for Pennsylvania homeowners. They have betrayed their constituents and sold them out for their own self-interest. These lawmakers do not deserve our support and should have their jobs eliminated in this year’s elections so we can find representatives who will truly represent their constituents.
All PTCC supporters are strongly encouraged to show their disapproval of this week’s events with a call, e-mail, or letter to their representative if they voted against HB 1275 (and a “thank you” to those who supported the bill is a good idea, too). Let them know that their job is HISTORY at the end of this year because they ignored your request for property tax elimination, and ask as many people as you can to do the same! Contact information for your representative is here.
You’re going to hear a lot of whining and a lot of excuses from these Representatives but in the end there was NO legitimate reason for killing HB 1275. Their only reasons for voting against this bill were cowardice, pandering to the special interests, and groveling to their party leadership – none of which has anything to do with truly serving their constituents.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now for round two – adding insult to injury.
One of the bills that the PTCC and PCTA oppose, HB 1600, is DEAD. A gut-and-replace amendment by Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) that would take ALL gambling proceeds and give them to senior citizens earning less than $40,000 passed Tuesday night (1/29). It totally replaced the original language in HB 1600, effectively killing the bill.
If this bill gets through final passage in the House and is passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, and since this bill uses ALL of the available gambling proceeds, any property tax “relief” from gaming money that you’ve been expecting for two years will be eliminated if you do not meet the guidelines above. This is good news for low-income seniors who are having problems just staying in their homes and we think that this goes a long way towards helping the most vulnerable group in our society. However, the flip side is that the House has reneged on its promise of property tax relief for ALL homeowners that it made to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania two years ago with Act 1. This is ironic since they could have given elimination to ALL homeowners through HB 1275 but refused to do so.
This amendment was obviously pandering to the senior vote during an election year, but what really irritates me about the Perzel amendment is that it is more of the same "divide and conquer" strategy. I'm sure that these lawmakers feel that with the passage of this bill the seniors (the biggest voting bloc) will be satisfied and they won't have to deal with the issue any more. If this is true, we’ll just have to prove to them that this strategy won’t work.
And here’s the final insult: Reporter Kori Walter is reporting in today’s (2/2) Bucks County Courier Times that Rep. David Levdansky has pulled HB 1600 from consideration. Even though his original language for 1600 was eliminated and replaced by the Perzel amendment, as prime sponsor Rep. Levdansky still “owns” the bill and can make this maneuver. These lawmakers continue to play their political games at the expense of the taxpayers that they serve and this MUST END!
Apparently the housecleaning in the 2006 elections over the midnight pay raise wasn’t sufficient to convince the lawmakers that we are tired of their nonsense. We can, and must, teach them the same lesson this year. For me the property tax issue is the litmus test that will determine my vote in 2008 and many of the lawmakers failed. They MUST be shown the door in 2008!
By the way, if you want to see how much “relief” you will receive from the gambling revenue in your school district this year, click here and look under the $400 million column. Be sure to take your blood pressure medicine first!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
So here’s the status right now:
After the Perzel debacle on Tuesday night the House immediately adjourned without further property tax discussion. The lawmakers returned to session for an hour on Wednesday morning and then announced a recess until 1:30. They never returned in the afternoon and canceled Thursday’s scheduled session. Right now it is uncertain if property taxes will be discussed when the House meets again on Monday (2/4).
It is obvious that the majority Democratic House Leadership is in total confusion from having HB 1600 defeated and the Perzel amendment approved. This turn of events has thwarted their plans for their bogus property tax “relief” and they obviously need time to regroup.
HB 1600 is dead, the second fake tax swap plan, HB 1489, is on life support, and the Democratic Caucus has no fallback position. They promised property tax relief during the 2006 election, have been unable to deliver, and now are facing the voters again in 2008. They are in a VERY precarious position.
If they would choose to help themselves, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, is still in the Appropriations Committee and could be brought out for a vote if they would be willing to make a deal with 1275’s sponsors. I have no idea whatsoever if the Democratic Leadership would be willing to do this but it certainly could solve their problem.
This debate still has a long way to go and many more votes will have to be taken, so we’ll just have to wait to see how and when all of this plays out.
In the end, the taxpayers have again paid the price for the ridiculous political gamesmanship of this dysfunctional legislature. It is time that these politicians stop the “business as usual” and tend to the people they represent.
Just please remember that we are far from finished! There are many avenues still available to us to achieve our goal of total school property tax elimination and we WILL continue the fight. I hope that you will likewise continue your support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us/
Dear Friends,
This week has been an absolute zoo in the state House of Representatives – and that analogy is insulting to the zoo animals!
Because the bill supported by the PTCC and PCTA, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA), was not allowed out of the House Appropriations Committee for a fair hearing by the majority leadership, its language was attached as an amendment to HB 1600 to ensure it would be debated.
Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated on Tuesday (1/29) mostly because the legislators bent to the will of the special interests and marched in lockstep with their caucus leaders.
If you want to see how your representative voted on the HB 1275 amendment, the complete voting list is here.
The Democratic Leadership was closely involved in the crafting of 1275 and had been negotiating with the prime sponsor, Rep. Rohrer, since last January. The negotiations were done in good faith and total transparency by Rep. Rohrer; many compromises were made for the Democrats, including the elimination of the 3% sales tax on food and clothing and retaining 50% of the property tax on businesses, both large and small. (The original bill called for 100% reduction for all entities so a constitutional amendment to the uniformity clause could be avoided.)
In the end, the Democratic Leadership refused to endorse the bill, mainly because Rep. Rohrer refused to retain ALL property taxes on business. Doing this would have delayed enactment by at least two years because a constitutional amendment would have been required under those circumstances.
In a PTCC poll conducted in early January, 92% of the respondents answered "No" to the question "If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to the reduction of school property taxes for business by 50%?" This information was sent to the Democratic Leadership but was ignored.
The Democratic-sponsored and highly-promoted House Bills 1600 and 1489 were both tax shifts for minor relief that were opposed by our statewide coalition (PCTA) because they would have been tax INCREASES for many Pennsylvanians. In the end, these were the only measures that the Democratic leadership would support, reportedly at the urging of the governor.
Some of the excuses from those who opposed HB 1275 (and my response):
If property taxes are eliminated there will be a mass migration to Pennsylvania and our infrastructure will be overwhelmed. (Nonsense. There is NO evidence of any kind that this will occur.)
We shouldn’t have to pay tax on attorney’s fees. (The PA Bar Association lobbied hard against HB 1275. Draw your own conclusions.)
The four year phase-in of HB 1275 will take too long. (The four year phase-in was necessary because you can’t just replace $8 billion in property taxes at the drop of a hat. There would have been no money available to do this.)
NO reduction of property taxes for business, even at 50%. Wal-Mart! Exxon! Casinos! (See the sixth paragraph, above. Even though 80% of Pennsylvania businesses are small business, all the opponents could scream about was the large businesses receiving a 50% reduction. The reduction of business property taxes was a major theme and a sleazy emotional ploy for the democrats, even though analysis said that such a reduction would generate approximately 100,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania each year.)
The people of Pennsylvania will start a revolution because of the new taxes! (Ridiculous. Let’s see… If my school property taxes are totally eliminated I’m going to have to pay $300-$500 or less in other taxes. What’s infuriating about that?)
It taxes funerals! (And your point is? If the average funeral costs $10,000 there would be an additional $600 tax. But until the day you die you’d pay NO school property tax. I’ll take that trade, too. This was more baseless emotional pandering.)
In short, the opponents’ arguments were nothing but lame excuses for not having the courage to oppose the special interests and their caucus leaders to do what is right for Pennsylvania homeowners. They have betrayed their constituents and sold them out for their own self-interest. These lawmakers do not deserve our support and should have their jobs eliminated in this year’s elections so we can find representatives who will truly represent their constituents.
All PTCC supporters are strongly encouraged to show their disapproval of this week’s events with a call, e-mail, or letter to their representative if they voted against HB 1275 (and a “thank you” to those who supported the bill is a good idea, too). Let them know that their job is HISTORY at the end of this year because they ignored your request for property tax elimination, and ask as many people as you can to do the same! Contact information for your representative is here.
You’re going to hear a lot of whining and a lot of excuses from these Representatives but in the end there was NO legitimate reason for killing HB 1275. Their only reasons for voting against this bill were cowardice, pandering to the special interests, and groveling to their party leadership – none of which has anything to do with truly serving their constituents.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now for round two – adding insult to injury.
One of the bills that the PTCC and PCTA oppose, HB 1600, is DEAD. A gut-and-replace amendment by Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) that would take ALL gambling proceeds and give them to senior citizens earning less than $40,000 passed Tuesday night (1/29). It totally replaced the original language in HB 1600, effectively killing the bill.
If this bill gets through final passage in the House and is passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, and since this bill uses ALL of the available gambling proceeds, any property tax “relief” from gaming money that you’ve been expecting for two years will be eliminated if you do not meet the guidelines above. This is good news for low-income seniors who are having problems just staying in their homes and we think that this goes a long way towards helping the most vulnerable group in our society. However, the flip side is that the House has reneged on its promise of property tax relief for ALL homeowners that it made to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania two years ago with Act 1. This is ironic since they could have given elimination to ALL homeowners through HB 1275 but refused to do so.
This amendment was obviously pandering to the senior vote during an election year, but what really irritates me about the Perzel amendment is that it is more of the same "divide and conquer" strategy. I'm sure that these lawmakers feel that with the passage of this bill the seniors (the biggest voting bloc) will be satisfied and they won't have to deal with the issue any more. If this is true, we’ll just have to prove to them that this strategy won’t work.
And here’s the final insult: Reporter Kori Walter is reporting in today’s (2/2) Bucks County Courier Times that Rep. David Levdansky has pulled HB 1600 from consideration. Even though his original language for 1600 was eliminated and replaced by the Perzel amendment, as prime sponsor Rep. Levdansky still “owns” the bill and can make this maneuver. These lawmakers continue to play their political games at the expense of the taxpayers that they serve and this MUST END!
Apparently the housecleaning in the 2006 elections over the midnight pay raise wasn’t sufficient to convince the lawmakers that we are tired of their nonsense. We can, and must, teach them the same lesson this year. For me the property tax issue is the litmus test that will determine my vote in 2008 and many of the lawmakers failed. They MUST be shown the door in 2008!
By the way, if you want to see how much “relief” you will receive from the gambling revenue in your school district this year, click here and look under the $400 million column. Be sure to take your blood pressure medicine first!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
So here’s the status right now:
After the Perzel debacle on Tuesday night the House immediately adjourned without further property tax discussion. The lawmakers returned to session for an hour on Wednesday morning and then announced a recess until 1:30. They never returned in the afternoon and canceled Thursday’s scheduled session. Right now it is uncertain if property taxes will be discussed when the House meets again on Monday (2/4).
It is obvious that the majority Democratic House Leadership is in total confusion from having HB 1600 defeated and the Perzel amendment approved. This turn of events has thwarted their plans for their bogus property tax “relief” and they obviously need time to regroup.
HB 1600 is dead, the second fake tax swap plan, HB 1489, is on life support, and the Democratic Caucus has no fallback position. They promised property tax relief during the 2006 election, have been unable to deliver, and now are facing the voters again in 2008. They are in a VERY precarious position.
If they would choose to help themselves, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, is still in the Appropriations Committee and could be brought out for a vote if they would be willing to make a deal with 1275’s sponsors. I have no idea whatsoever if the Democratic Leadership would be willing to do this but it certainly could solve their problem.
This debate still has a long way to go and many more votes will have to be taken, so we’ll just have to wait to see how and when all of this plays out.
In the end, the taxpayers have again paid the price for the ridiculous political gamesmanship of this dysfunctional legislature. It is time that these politicians stop the “business as usual” and tend to the people they represent.
Just please remember that we are far from finished! There are many avenues still available to us to achieve our goal of total school property tax elimination and we WILL continue the fight. I hope that you will likewise continue your support.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us/
Web Exclusive Update - 30 January 2008
WEB Exclusive – UPDATE!
30 January 2008
Because the bill supported by the PTCC and PCTA, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA), was not allowed out of the House Appropriations Committee by the majority leadership for a fair hearing, it was attached as an amendment to HB 1600 to ensure it would be debated.
Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated on Tuesday (1/29) mostly because the legislators bent to the will of the special interests and marched in lockstep with their caucus leaders. We are currently assessing the situation and will issue a new PTCC update shortly.
If you want to see how your representative voted on the HB 1275 amendment, the complete voting list is here.
Some of the excuses from those who opposed HB 1275 (and my response):
- Rep. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe): If property taxes are eliminated there will be a mass migration to Pennsylvania and our infrastructure will be overwhelmed. (Nonsense. There is NO evidence of any kind that this will occur.)
- Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster): We shouldn’t have to pay tax on attorney’s fees and argued against the four year phase-in. (The PA Bar Association lobbied hard against HB 1275 and Rep. Cutler is an attorney. Draw your own conclusions. The four year phase-in was necessary because you can’t just replace $8 billion in property taxes at the drop of a hat. There would have been no money available to do this.)
- Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster): People will be crossing the border to find an attorney so they can avoid the sales tax. (Impossible. Are Maryland or Delaware or New York or New Jersey lawyers licensed to practice PA law?)
- Rep. Michael Sturla (D-Lancaster) and a lot of others: NO reduction of property taxes for business, even at 50%. (In the recent PTCC survey where many of you voiced your opinion, 92% of you said you didn’t care if school property taxes were reduced by 50% for business if your property taxes were ELIMINATED. The reduction of business property taxes was a major theme for the democrats.)
- Rep. Jess Stairs (R-Fayette/Westmoreland): The people of Pennsylvania will start a revolution because of the new taxes! (Ridiculous. Let’s see… If my school property taxes are totally eliminated I’m going to have to pay $300-$500 in other taxes. What’s infuriating about that?)
David Levdansky (D-Allegheny/Washington): It taxes funerals! (And your point is? If the average funeral costs $10,000 there would be an additional $600 tax. But until the day you die you’d pay NO school property tax. I’ll take that trade, too.)
In short, the opponents’ arguments were nothing but lame excuses for not having the courage to oppose the special interests and to do what is right for Pennsylvania homeowners. They have betrayed their constituents and sold them out for their own self-interest. These lawmakers do not deserve our support and should have their jobs eliminated in this year’s elections so we can find representatives who will truly represent their constituents.
You are strongly encouraged to show your disapproval with a call, e-mail, or letter to your representative if they voted against HB 1275. Let them know that their job is HISTORY at the end of this year! Contact information for your representative is here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
One other note: One of the bills that the PTCC and PCTA oppose, HB 1600, is DEAD. A gut-and-replace amendment by Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) that would take ALL gambling proceeds and give them to senior citizens earning less than $40,000 passed Tuesday night (1/29). It totally replaced the original language in HB 1600, effectively killing the bill.
If this bill get through final passage in the House and is passed by the senate and signed by the governor, and since this bill uses ALL of the gambling proceeds, any property tax “relief” from gaming money that you’ve been expecting for two years will be eliminated if you’re less than 65 years of age. This is good news for low-income seniors who are having problems just staying in their homes and we think that this goes a long way towards helping the most vulnerable group in our society. However, the flip side is that the House has reneged on its promise of property tax relief for ALL homeowners that it made to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania two years ago with Act 1. This is ironic since they could have given elimination to ALL homeowners through HB 1275 but refused to do so.
What really irritates me about the Perzel amendment is that it is more of the same "divide and conquer" strategy. I'm sure that these lawmakers feel that with the passage of this bill the seniors (the biggest voting bloc) will be satisfied and they won't have to deal with the issue any more. If this is true, we’ll just have to prove to them that this strategy won’t work.
If you want to see how much “relief” you will receive from the gambling revenue in your school district this year, click here and look under the $400 million column. Be sure to take your blood pressure medicine first!
This debate still has a long way to go and many more votes will have to be taken, so we’ll just have to wait to see how all of this plays out.
Just please remember that we are far from finished! There are many avenues still available to us to achieve our goal of total school property tax elimination and we WILL continue the fight. I hope that you will likewise continue your support.
Please feel free to post your comments and please write to me with any questions or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us/
30 January 2008
Because the bill supported by the PTCC and PCTA, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA), was not allowed out of the House Appropriations Committee by the majority leadership for a fair hearing, it was attached as an amendment to HB 1600 to ensure it would be debated.
Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated on Tuesday (1/29) mostly because the legislators bent to the will of the special interests and marched in lockstep with their caucus leaders. We are currently assessing the situation and will issue a new PTCC update shortly.
If you want to see how your representative voted on the HB 1275 amendment, the complete voting list is here.
Some of the excuses from those who opposed HB 1275 (and my response):
- Rep. Mario Scavello (R-Monroe): If property taxes are eliminated there will be a mass migration to Pennsylvania and our infrastructure will be overwhelmed. (Nonsense. There is NO evidence of any kind that this will occur.)
- Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster): We shouldn’t have to pay tax on attorney’s fees and argued against the four year phase-in. (The PA Bar Association lobbied hard against HB 1275 and Rep. Cutler is an attorney. Draw your own conclusions. The four year phase-in was necessary because you can’t just replace $8 billion in property taxes at the drop of a hat. There would have been no money available to do this.)
- Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster): People will be crossing the border to find an attorney so they can avoid the sales tax. (Impossible. Are Maryland or Delaware or New York or New Jersey lawyers licensed to practice PA law?)
- Rep. Michael Sturla (D-Lancaster) and a lot of others: NO reduction of property taxes for business, even at 50%. (In the recent PTCC survey where many of you voiced your opinion, 92% of you said you didn’t care if school property taxes were reduced by 50% for business if your property taxes were ELIMINATED. The reduction of business property taxes was a major theme for the democrats.)
- Rep. Jess Stairs (R-Fayette/Westmoreland): The people of Pennsylvania will start a revolution because of the new taxes! (Ridiculous. Let’s see… If my school property taxes are totally eliminated I’m going to have to pay $300-$500 in other taxes. What’s infuriating about that?)
David Levdansky (D-Allegheny/Washington): It taxes funerals! (And your point is? If the average funeral costs $10,000 there would be an additional $600 tax. But until the day you die you’d pay NO school property tax. I’ll take that trade, too.)
In short, the opponents’ arguments were nothing but lame excuses for not having the courage to oppose the special interests and to do what is right for Pennsylvania homeowners. They have betrayed their constituents and sold them out for their own self-interest. These lawmakers do not deserve our support and should have their jobs eliminated in this year’s elections so we can find representatives who will truly represent their constituents.
You are strongly encouraged to show your disapproval with a call, e-mail, or letter to your representative if they voted against HB 1275. Let them know that their job is HISTORY at the end of this year! Contact information for your representative is here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
One other note: One of the bills that the PTCC and PCTA oppose, HB 1600, is DEAD. A gut-and-replace amendment by Rep. John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) that would take ALL gambling proceeds and give them to senior citizens earning less than $40,000 passed Tuesday night (1/29). It totally replaced the original language in HB 1600, effectively killing the bill.
If this bill get through final passage in the House and is passed by the senate and signed by the governor, and since this bill uses ALL of the gambling proceeds, any property tax “relief” from gaming money that you’ve been expecting for two years will be eliminated if you’re less than 65 years of age. This is good news for low-income seniors who are having problems just staying in their homes and we think that this goes a long way towards helping the most vulnerable group in our society. However, the flip side is that the House has reneged on its promise of property tax relief for ALL homeowners that it made to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania two years ago with Act 1. This is ironic since they could have given elimination to ALL homeowners through HB 1275 but refused to do so.
What really irritates me about the Perzel amendment is that it is more of the same "divide and conquer" strategy. I'm sure that these lawmakers feel that with the passage of this bill the seniors (the biggest voting bloc) will be satisfied and they won't have to deal with the issue any more. If this is true, we’ll just have to prove to them that this strategy won’t work.
If you want to see how much “relief” you will receive from the gambling revenue in your school district this year, click here and look under the $400 million column. Be sure to take your blood pressure medicine first!
This debate still has a long way to go and many more votes will have to be taken, so we’ll just have to wait to see how all of this plays out.
Just please remember that we are far from finished! There are many avenues still available to us to achieve our goal of total school property tax elimination and we WILL continue the fight. I hope that you will likewise continue your support.
Please feel free to post your comments and please write to me with any questions or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us/
Keep up the pressure!
22 January 2008
Dear Friends,
The House majority leadership has graciously granted us another week to strengthen our position and apply more pressure on contrary lawmakers. More on this in a moment.
The only bill related to property taxes that was voted last week was HB 1947. This bill is a constitutional amendment that was backed by Rep. David Levdansky (D-Allegheny/Washington) and is companion legislation to Rep. Levdansky's valueless HB 1600. It will ALLOW up to a 100% homestead property tax exemption instead of the current 50%. The key word here is ALLOW, since the bill by itself does absolutely NOTHING - it needs further enabling legislation sometime in the future to have any effect. While the majority party spin on this bill is that it is historic, it is actually nothing more than a hollow election year ploy to garner votes – the politicians are attempting to deceive us yet again. The measure passed unanimously, 193-0, because it would have been difficult for any legislator to vote against it and risk looking like an obstructionist. The bill effectively says that "we may eventually consider the possibility that sometime in the future we might..."
While the vote was meaningless, the debate that it generated was really the important issue. Opposition lawmakers clearly made the point that the bill is worthless and pretty much had Rep. Levdansky on the defensive during the entire debate. Rep. Levdansky was asked three times for a straight yes or no answer on whether he would support total elimination of school property taxes if this constitutional change was made and all three times he avoided the question and refused to commit. Rep. Levdansky obviously does not want elimination and this was made clearly evident during the debate.
Although majority leader Rep. Bill DeWeese said that debate was postponed on HB 1600 and HB 1489 (the two bogus "relief" bills that we oppose) because there were so many amendments that the members needed time to study them, Tony Phyrillas of the Pottstown Mercury and other House insiders have reported that the real reason debate was postponed was because their supporters did not have sufficient votes to pass either bill. It appears that many of the members know that these bills will be regarded by the public as Act 1 revisited and do not want to be associated with another scam. It is a certainty that the majority leaders will be beating the bushes for votes for these bills this week.
Meanwhile, our efforts have gained strength because of your overwhelming response to the last Action Item, our PCTA members' work on publicizing HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and because of targeted advertisements that ran in more than 20 Pennsylvania newspapers on Tuesday and Wednesday (1/15-16). A sample of those advertisements is here: http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/1275_Punxsutawney_Spirit_Smith.pdf.
On January 9, the Pennsylvania Bar Association circulated a legislative alert statewide encouraging their membership to contact their legislators with the request that they oppose the School Property Tax Elimination Act. As an indicator of the success that your support has been making, the PBA issued on Friday (1/18) another bulletin that stated: "This delay has afforded taxpayer groups in support of Rohrer's legislation the opportunity to strengthen their voice and their legislative support for the proposal. Many House members who are committed to voting "no" on the Rohrer amendment are feeling this political pressure". The PBA didn't pull this information out thin air - they are likely receiving feedback from legislators who are running scared and telling them that their constituent's votes are more important than their support of the PBA's stance.
We've also heard that the newspaper ads and the huge number of e-mails and telephone calls were discussed in Harrisburg political circles last week. Apparently some of the House members were quite irritated; a staffer for one member reportedly said that this is "sleazy politics" (!?) and another reportedly said that it's "just not right" that the PCTA is doing this (!!??). Their arrogance is amazing! We are their employers and we have every right to demand that they address our grievances.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: We have been given another week to make our voices heard before property tax debate begins on January 28. We MUST use this time effectively to increase the pressure on these unresponsive lawmakers. The Action Items from last week’s update can still be very effective and I ask all of you to PLEASE respond to them again and again and yet again to keep the pressure on – more than one contact with your legislator will emphasize your conviction! Because of your efforts we have gained tremendous momentum – DON’T LET UP NOW!
** ACTION ITEMS **
** First, please immediately forward this e-mail to everyone you know and ask them to participate in this Action Item. We need as many voices as possible NOW.
** Second, call or e-mail your representative NOW to DEMAND that they support HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and that they REJECT HB 1600 and HB 1489. Tell them that your vote for them in 2008 will depend on their support of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, whether it is presented as a free-standing bill or as an amendment to another bill. Tell them that you are not interested in hearing any excuses that they may offer. Contact information for your representative is available here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm.
We are engaged in a classic battle between the special interests and the citizens of Pennsylvania. The special interests may have the money to influence lawmakers by donating to their re-election campaigns, but WE HAVE THE POWER OF THE BALLOT BOX and can remove these politicians from office in 2008 if they refuse to do the right thing for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. The message must be made perfectly clear: ELIMINATE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES NOW OR WE WILL ELIMINATE YOUR JOB IN 2008!
Please, everyone, keep piling on and try to get as many of your contacts as possible to do the same. Lean on your district’s representative and House majority leaders Bill DeWeese and Keith McCall and minority leader Sam Smith. Demand that they support House Bill 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and reject HB 1600 and HB 1489. Write letters to the editor, call radio talk shows. We have a good chance of success if we just don't get tired and give them the opportunity to ignore us again!
Let’s all work together to get this done!
Please feel free to write to me with any comments, suggestions, or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us
Dear Friends,
The House majority leadership has graciously granted us another week to strengthen our position and apply more pressure on contrary lawmakers. More on this in a moment.
The only bill related to property taxes that was voted last week was HB 1947. This bill is a constitutional amendment that was backed by Rep. David Levdansky (D-Allegheny/Washington) and is companion legislation to Rep. Levdansky's valueless HB 1600. It will ALLOW up to a 100% homestead property tax exemption instead of the current 50%. The key word here is ALLOW, since the bill by itself does absolutely NOTHING - it needs further enabling legislation sometime in the future to have any effect. While the majority party spin on this bill is that it is historic, it is actually nothing more than a hollow election year ploy to garner votes – the politicians are attempting to deceive us yet again. The measure passed unanimously, 193-0, because it would have been difficult for any legislator to vote against it and risk looking like an obstructionist. The bill effectively says that "we may eventually consider the possibility that sometime in the future we might..."
While the vote was meaningless, the debate that it generated was really the important issue. Opposition lawmakers clearly made the point that the bill is worthless and pretty much had Rep. Levdansky on the defensive during the entire debate. Rep. Levdansky was asked three times for a straight yes or no answer on whether he would support total elimination of school property taxes if this constitutional change was made and all three times he avoided the question and refused to commit. Rep. Levdansky obviously does not want elimination and this was made clearly evident during the debate.
Although majority leader Rep. Bill DeWeese said that debate was postponed on HB 1600 and HB 1489 (the two bogus "relief" bills that we oppose) because there were so many amendments that the members needed time to study them, Tony Phyrillas of the Pottstown Mercury and other House insiders have reported that the real reason debate was postponed was because their supporters did not have sufficient votes to pass either bill. It appears that many of the members know that these bills will be regarded by the public as Act 1 revisited and do not want to be associated with another scam. It is a certainty that the majority leaders will be beating the bushes for votes for these bills this week.
Meanwhile, our efforts have gained strength because of your overwhelming response to the last Action Item, our PCTA members' work on publicizing HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and because of targeted advertisements that ran in more than 20 Pennsylvania newspapers on Tuesday and Wednesday (1/15-16). A sample of those advertisements is here: http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/1275_Punxsutawney_Spirit_Smith.pdf.
On January 9, the Pennsylvania Bar Association circulated a legislative alert statewide encouraging their membership to contact their legislators with the request that they oppose the School Property Tax Elimination Act. As an indicator of the success that your support has been making, the PBA issued on Friday (1/18) another bulletin that stated: "This delay has afforded taxpayer groups in support of Rohrer's legislation the opportunity to strengthen their voice and their legislative support for the proposal. Many House members who are committed to voting "no" on the Rohrer amendment are feeling this political pressure". The PBA didn't pull this information out thin air - they are likely receiving feedback from legislators who are running scared and telling them that their constituent's votes are more important than their support of the PBA's stance.
We've also heard that the newspaper ads and the huge number of e-mails and telephone calls were discussed in Harrisburg political circles last week. Apparently some of the House members were quite irritated; a staffer for one member reportedly said that this is "sleazy politics" (!?) and another reportedly said that it's "just not right" that the PCTA is doing this (!!??). Their arrogance is amazing! We are their employers and we have every right to demand that they address our grievances.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: We have been given another week to make our voices heard before property tax debate begins on January 28. We MUST use this time effectively to increase the pressure on these unresponsive lawmakers. The Action Items from last week’s update can still be very effective and I ask all of you to PLEASE respond to them again and again and yet again to keep the pressure on – more than one contact with your legislator will emphasize your conviction! Because of your efforts we have gained tremendous momentum – DON’T LET UP NOW!
** ACTION ITEMS **
** First, please immediately forward this e-mail to everyone you know and ask them to participate in this Action Item. We need as many voices as possible NOW.
** Second, call or e-mail your representative NOW to DEMAND that they support HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and that they REJECT HB 1600 and HB 1489. Tell them that your vote for them in 2008 will depend on their support of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, whether it is presented as a free-standing bill or as an amendment to another bill. Tell them that you are not interested in hearing any excuses that they may offer. Contact information for your representative is available here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm.
We are engaged in a classic battle between the special interests and the citizens of Pennsylvania. The special interests may have the money to influence lawmakers by donating to their re-election campaigns, but WE HAVE THE POWER OF THE BALLOT BOX and can remove these politicians from office in 2008 if they refuse to do the right thing for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. The message must be made perfectly clear: ELIMINATE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES NOW OR WE WILL ELIMINATE YOUR JOB IN 2008!
Please, everyone, keep piling on and try to get as many of your contacts as possible to do the same. Lean on your district’s representative and House majority leaders Bill DeWeese and Keith McCall and minority leader Sam Smith. Demand that they support House Bill 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and reject HB 1600 and HB 1489. Write letters to the editor, call radio talk shows. We have a good chance of success if we just don't get tired and give them the opportunity to ignore us again!
Let’s all work together to get this done!
Please feel free to write to me with any comments, suggestions, or concerns.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us
WE ARE BEING STONEWALLED AGAIN!
14 January 2008
** VERY URGENT ACTION ITEMS **
Dear Friends,
If you want school property tax ELIMINATION and if you have not responded to a PTCC Action Item in the past, RIGHT NOW is the time to do so! This may be our only chance this session to have the School Property Tax Elimination Act passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
It is almost certain that several property tax bills will be reported out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday (1/14):
HB 1600: This is the worthless Levdansky/Scavello bill that will raise the sales tax and state income tax to finance a rebate of approximately an average $414. If you don’t remember the details, the explanation is here: http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/HB1600.htm
HB 1489: This is the DeWeese bill that is also known as “HB 1600 Lite”. It does not raise the state income tax like HB 1600 but raises the sales tax by 0.5% to finance a small homestead rebate of approximately an average $205. Otherwise the provisions are identical to HB 1600. Reportedly, the governor told the democratic caucus last week that this is the only bill he wants to see approved by the House.
Both of these bills are dangerous pieces of legislation that work on the same principle as the Act 1 tax shift referendum that was so soundly rejected by the voters last May. They permanently raise taxes for a small, temporary rebate that will quickly be eaten away by relentlessly rising property taxes. They do nothing to control costs, address equity for underfunded schools or to solve the education finance crisis. They are WORTHLESS SCAMS that are meant to deceive us unto believing that the politicians have given us property tax “relief” and can be jammed down our throats without any chance for us to reject them. They are simply a PERMANENT TAX INCREASE and must be rejected.
HB 93: This one has slipped under the radar but will still be an issue. The bill provides for the implementation of special tax provisions FOR FIRST-CLASS CITIES ONLY that allow for the refund or forgiveness of property tax liability for certain low-income, disabled, or senior citizens. This is simply more pandering for votes and will take money from property tax relief for other areas of the state.
THE BILL WE SUPPORT, HB 1275, THE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION ACT, IS STONEWALLED AND IS NOT SCHEDULED TO BE REPORTED OUT OF COMMITTEE!
Floor debate and voting on the bills that are reported out of committee is possible as early as Wednesday (1/16), with final passage possible as early as Thursday (1/17). It appears now that property taxes will be debated and voted without any consideration of HB 1275. This is an absolute travesty that is fueled purely by the political motives of the House majority leadership. This cowardly maneuver will not allow a straight up or down vote on HB 1275 and will again deny true property tax reform to Pennsylvanians.
It is possible that the sponsors of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, could attach the HB 1275 language as an amendment to any of the worthless bills that will be debated. This will force the legislature to deal with this issue. We’ll know in a day or so if this happens.
** ACTION ITEMS **
** First, please immediately forward this e-mail to everyone you know and ask them to participate in this Action Item. We need as many voices as possible NOW.
** Second, call or e-mail your representative NOW to DEMAND that they support HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and that they REJECT HB 1600 and HB 1489. Tell them that your vote for them in 2008 will depend on their support of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, whether it is presented as a free-standing bill or as an amendment to another bill. Ignore any mealy-mouthed excuses that they may offer. Contact information for your representative is available here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm.
You must take these actions before Tuesday, January 15!
My mood right now is exemplified by the famous line by Peter Finch in the movie Network: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”. All of you should be equally angry with this political smoke-and-mirrors game, too. The Harrisburg politicians have done NOTHING of substance this session and they are about to hand us NOTHING again.
Over ten thousand Pennsylvanians lose their homes to sheriff’s sales each year; many more are forced to sell their hard-earned homes because they can’t afford the burden of property taxes; schoolchildren in over 100 districts are receiving a marginal education because the residents can no longer adequately support the schools. Literally tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents are suffering – truly suffering - because of oppressive property taxes, yet the Harrisburg politicians continue to shuffle our lives like pawns on a chessboard while they play their foul political games and pander to the special interests. They ignore our needs and wants; they are despicable and are anything but true representatives of the people. They must do what is right for the people of Pennsylvania or be voted out of office in 2008. They must be told NOW, in the strongest voice possible, that “WE are mad as hell and WE’RE not going to take it anymore!”.
This is the time that we have been working towards for the past two years. It is URGENT that we make a strong effort now to ensure that the competing bogus bills do not pass and that HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, is enacted. PLEASE do all that you can during the next few days to involve as many folks as possible in this effort.
Your help now will make a difference in your life and the lives of all Pennsylvanians.
Please write to me with questions or concerns and please feel free to add your comments for everyone to read on the PTCC blog at http://pataxpayers.blogspot.com/2008/01/urgent-action-item.html.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us/
** VERY URGENT ACTION ITEMS **
Dear Friends,
If you want school property tax ELIMINATION and if you have not responded to a PTCC Action Item in the past, RIGHT NOW is the time to do so! This may be our only chance this session to have the School Property Tax Elimination Act passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
It is almost certain that several property tax bills will be reported out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday (1/14):
HB 1600: This is the worthless Levdansky/Scavello bill that will raise the sales tax and state income tax to finance a rebate of approximately an average $414. If you don’t remember the details, the explanation is here: http://mysite.verizon.net/drbsr/PTCCWeb/HB1600.htm
HB 1489: This is the DeWeese bill that is also known as “HB 1600 Lite”. It does not raise the state income tax like HB 1600 but raises the sales tax by 0.5% to finance a small homestead rebate of approximately an average $205. Otherwise the provisions are identical to HB 1600. Reportedly, the governor told the democratic caucus last week that this is the only bill he wants to see approved by the House.
Both of these bills are dangerous pieces of legislation that work on the same principle as the Act 1 tax shift referendum that was so soundly rejected by the voters last May. They permanently raise taxes for a small, temporary rebate that will quickly be eaten away by relentlessly rising property taxes. They do nothing to control costs, address equity for underfunded schools or to solve the education finance crisis. They are WORTHLESS SCAMS that are meant to deceive us unto believing that the politicians have given us property tax “relief” and can be jammed down our throats without any chance for us to reject them. They are simply a PERMANENT TAX INCREASE and must be rejected.
HB 93: This one has slipped under the radar but will still be an issue. The bill provides for the implementation of special tax provisions FOR FIRST-CLASS CITIES ONLY that allow for the refund or forgiveness of property tax liability for certain low-income, disabled, or senior citizens. This is simply more pandering for votes and will take money from property tax relief for other areas of the state.
THE BILL WE SUPPORT, HB 1275, THE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION ACT, IS STONEWALLED AND IS NOT SCHEDULED TO BE REPORTED OUT OF COMMITTEE!
Floor debate and voting on the bills that are reported out of committee is possible as early as Wednesday (1/16), with final passage possible as early as Thursday (1/17). It appears now that property taxes will be debated and voted without any consideration of HB 1275. This is an absolute travesty that is fueled purely by the political motives of the House majority leadership. This cowardly maneuver will not allow a straight up or down vote on HB 1275 and will again deny true property tax reform to Pennsylvanians.
It is possible that the sponsors of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, could attach the HB 1275 language as an amendment to any of the worthless bills that will be debated. This will force the legislature to deal with this issue. We’ll know in a day or so if this happens.
** ACTION ITEMS **
** First, please immediately forward this e-mail to everyone you know and ask them to participate in this Action Item. We need as many voices as possible NOW.
** Second, call or e-mail your representative NOW to DEMAND that they support HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, and that they REJECT HB 1600 and HB 1489. Tell them that your vote for them in 2008 will depend on their support of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, whether it is presented as a free-standing bill or as an amendment to another bill. Ignore any mealy-mouthed excuses that they may offer. Contact information for your representative is available here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm.
You must take these actions before Tuesday, January 15!
My mood right now is exemplified by the famous line by Peter Finch in the movie Network: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”. All of you should be equally angry with this political smoke-and-mirrors game, too. The Harrisburg politicians have done NOTHING of substance this session and they are about to hand us NOTHING again.
Over ten thousand Pennsylvanians lose their homes to sheriff’s sales each year; many more are forced to sell their hard-earned homes because they can’t afford the burden of property taxes; schoolchildren in over 100 districts are receiving a marginal education because the residents can no longer adequately support the schools. Literally tens of thousands of Pennsylvania residents are suffering – truly suffering - because of oppressive property taxes, yet the Harrisburg politicians continue to shuffle our lives like pawns on a chessboard while they play their foul political games and pander to the special interests. They ignore our needs and wants; they are despicable and are anything but true representatives of the people. They must do what is right for the people of Pennsylvania or be voted out of office in 2008. They must be told NOW, in the strongest voice possible, that “WE are mad as hell and WE’RE not going to take it anymore!”.
This is the time that we have been working towards for the past two years. It is URGENT that we make a strong effort now to ensure that the competing bogus bills do not pass and that HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, is enacted. PLEASE do all that you can during the next few days to involve as many folks as possible in this effort.
Your help now will make a difference in your life and the lives of all Pennsylvanians.
Please write to me with questions or concerns and please feel free to add your comments for everyone to read on the PTCC blog at http://pataxpayers.blogspot.com/2008/01/urgent-action-item.html.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com
http://www.ptcc.us/
It's time to tell the politicians what we want! (And what will happen if they ignore us again)
07 January 2008
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year to all!
Since the legislature has not been in session for a few weeks there’s not much definitive information about the progress of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. However, there are some indications that we may soon see some action on property taxes in the House of Representatives.
HB 1275 now has 44 co-sponsors. The updated list is in the November 10 update here. If your representative is on this list you may want to thank him or her for sponsoring this legislation. If not, you should contact your representative to find out why they are not working for your interests. More on that later.
HB 1275 is now in the House Appropriations Committee; we expect the bill to be reported out of committee in the near future. We also expect floor debate on property taxes to begin sometime after January 14 since this issue should probably be settled prior to the governor’s February budget address. Of course, considering the legislature’s record on timeliness these projections are subject to change. But nonetheless this may or may not be our last opportunity to affect House passage of HB 1275 and we must act anyway to let the politicians know we are watching them.
First, letters to the editor of your local newspaper in support of the School Property Tax Elimination Act are always a good way to help to spread the word and apply pressure to politicians, so write one if you feel comfortable doing so. Second, frequent letters, phone calls, and e-mails to representatives are a MUST from as many of you as possible. Details are below.
Representative David Argall (Berks, Schuylkill), the Republican Caucus whip, is the only House leader who has signed on to HB 1275 and is actively promoting the bill. Republican leader Sam Smith (Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson), Democratic leader William DeWeese (Fayette, Greene, Washington), and Democratic whip Keith McCall (Carbon) have not indicated that they will support HB 1275. This is unfortunate since the leadership of each party can have a huge influence over their members’ votes. Although the motives for their reluctance can only be assumed, these leaders need a stern admonition from each of us to let them know that we expect them to ignore the petty politics, be TRUE representatives of the people, and do what is right for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. Their contact information is at the bottom of this update.
It is also VERY important that you contact your district’s representative during the next week to let him or her know that you expect them to support HB 1275 and that your vote and the votes of your friends in 2008 will be determined by their support of this legislation. To this point we’ve been respectful with these politicians in requesting their support but many have totally ignored our wishes. With their re-election coming up this year it is now time to play hardball. As Tony Phyrillas of the Pottstown Mercury recently said in his blog, “It's time to hold your representatives accountable. Make sure they hear from you and the message should be loud and clear: Eliminate property taxes now or voters will eliminate your job in 2008”. Well said, Tony! You can find contact information for your representative by Zip+4 here.
Remember, too, when you contact your representative that House Bill 1600 is still being considered. This bill is no different than the soundly defeated Act 1 tax shift referendum and will permanently raise both the sales and income taxes to finance a small property tax rebate (approximately $414) that will be quickly negated by relentlessly rising property taxes. This fraudulent, worthless legislation is nothing more than a tax increase in disguise and MUST BE DEFEATED! Be sure that your representative knows that you expect him or her to REJECT HB 1600. Further details about HB 1600 are available here.
One final note on HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. It’s easy to tell the good guys from the self-serving members of the House of Representatives by their support for this bill. Unlike Act 1 - the property tax “relief” measure that benefits everyone EXCEPT the taxpayer by funding racing purses, jockey pensions, the Philadelphia Convention Center, and the Pittsburgh Penguins Arena - the School Property Tax Elimination Act is pure in that it benefits NO ONE but the people and schoolchildren of Pennsylvania. There is NOTHING in HB 1275 that favors the politicians or the special interests. HB 1275 is a remarkably honest piece of legislation and those legislators who support it are truly working for your interests.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HB 1275 Objections Survey
Objections to HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, have been raised by politicians and certain groups in Pennsylvania. The PTCC would like your opinion about these objections so we can show public attitude to counter them effectively. Please take a few moments to complete a short three question YES/NO survey about the issues. The survey is here. Here are the questions that are included in the survey:
1) The Tax Foundation (http://www.taxfoundation.org/) has ranked Pennsylvania #47 for business property tax burden in its annual rating of business-friendly states. The School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) proposes to reduce business school property taxes by 50%; it is estimated that this will generate as many as 100,000 new jobs each year by attracting new business to Pennsylvania. Some House Democrats will not support HB 1275, calling this reduction “corporate welfare”.
Question: If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to the reduction of school property taxes for business by 50%?
2) The School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) is financed in part by expanding the current sales tax base to include more services such as architect’s fees, health club memberships, and lawyer’s fees. It has been reported that some lawyers are objecting to a sales tax on their services and are lobbying for the defeat of HB 1275.
Question: If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to the broadening of the sales tax base to include attorney’s fees?
3) Under the provisions of the School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275), non-profit organizations will continue to be exempt from paying sales taxes on goods and services that they purchase. However, any goods or services sold by the organizations to consumers will be subject to sales tax in the same manner as commercial stores.
Question: If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to paying sales tax on goods sold by non-profit organizations?
Besides the YES/NO questions in the survey, it would be appreciated if you would add your comments about these issues to this PTCC blog post (below) for all to read or e-mail them to pataxpayers@gmail.com. Any personal information that you choose to submit will remain confidential but survey results and anonymous quotes may be sent to politicians by the PTCC to show support for HB 1275.
Please help. Your participation in this survey will be greatly appreciated.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to achieve honest, equitable school finance reform. Please work to enlist the help of your family, friends, and neighbors in this campaign so we can have an even larger base of support for the benefit of all Pennsylvania taxpayers and schoolchildren. Please forward this e-mail to as many folks as possible! The more hands, the better!
Your questions and concerns are always welcome – please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Republican Caucus Leader:
Hon. Samuel H. Smith
527 East Mahoning Street
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-4225
Fax: (814) 938-1950
ssmith@pahousegop.com
Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson
Democratic Caucus Leader:
Hon. H. William DeWeese
222 Elm Drive
Suite 101, P.O. Box 832
Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 627-8683
Fax: (724) 627-6043
wdeweese@pahouse.net
Fayette, Greene, Washington
Democratic Caucus Whip:
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
kmccall@pahouse.net
Carbon
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year to all!
Since the legislature has not been in session for a few weeks there’s not much definitive information about the progress of HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. However, there are some indications that we may soon see some action on property taxes in the House of Representatives.
HB 1275 now has 44 co-sponsors. The updated list is in the November 10 update here. If your representative is on this list you may want to thank him or her for sponsoring this legislation. If not, you should contact your representative to find out why they are not working for your interests. More on that later.
HB 1275 is now in the House Appropriations Committee; we expect the bill to be reported out of committee in the near future. We also expect floor debate on property taxes to begin sometime after January 14 since this issue should probably be settled prior to the governor’s February budget address. Of course, considering the legislature’s record on timeliness these projections are subject to change. But nonetheless this may or may not be our last opportunity to affect House passage of HB 1275 and we must act anyway to let the politicians know we are watching them.
First, letters to the editor of your local newspaper in support of the School Property Tax Elimination Act are always a good way to help to spread the word and apply pressure to politicians, so write one if you feel comfortable doing so. Second, frequent letters, phone calls, and e-mails to representatives are a MUST from as many of you as possible. Details are below.
Representative David Argall (Berks, Schuylkill), the Republican Caucus whip, is the only House leader who has signed on to HB 1275 and is actively promoting the bill. Republican leader Sam Smith (Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson), Democratic leader William DeWeese (Fayette, Greene, Washington), and Democratic whip Keith McCall (Carbon) have not indicated that they will support HB 1275. This is unfortunate since the leadership of each party can have a huge influence over their members’ votes. Although the motives for their reluctance can only be assumed, these leaders need a stern admonition from each of us to let them know that we expect them to ignore the petty politics, be TRUE representatives of the people, and do what is right for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. Their contact information is at the bottom of this update.
It is also VERY important that you contact your district’s representative during the next week to let him or her know that you expect them to support HB 1275 and that your vote and the votes of your friends in 2008 will be determined by their support of this legislation. To this point we’ve been respectful with these politicians in requesting their support but many have totally ignored our wishes. With their re-election coming up this year it is now time to play hardball. As Tony Phyrillas of the Pottstown Mercury recently said in his blog, “It's time to hold your representatives accountable. Make sure they hear from you and the message should be loud and clear: Eliminate property taxes now or voters will eliminate your job in 2008”. Well said, Tony! You can find contact information for your representative by Zip+4 here.
Remember, too, when you contact your representative that House Bill 1600 is still being considered. This bill is no different than the soundly defeated Act 1 tax shift referendum and will permanently raise both the sales and income taxes to finance a small property tax rebate (approximately $414) that will be quickly negated by relentlessly rising property taxes. This fraudulent, worthless legislation is nothing more than a tax increase in disguise and MUST BE DEFEATED! Be sure that your representative knows that you expect him or her to REJECT HB 1600. Further details about HB 1600 are available here.
One final note on HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act. It’s easy to tell the good guys from the self-serving members of the House of Representatives by their support for this bill. Unlike Act 1 - the property tax “relief” measure that benefits everyone EXCEPT the taxpayer by funding racing purses, jockey pensions, the Philadelphia Convention Center, and the Pittsburgh Penguins Arena - the School Property Tax Elimination Act is pure in that it benefits NO ONE but the people and schoolchildren of Pennsylvania. There is NOTHING in HB 1275 that favors the politicians or the special interests. HB 1275 is a remarkably honest piece of legislation and those legislators who support it are truly working for your interests.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HB 1275 Objections Survey
Objections to HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, have been raised by politicians and certain groups in Pennsylvania. The PTCC would like your opinion about these objections so we can show public attitude to counter them effectively. Please take a few moments to complete a short three question YES/NO survey about the issues. The survey is here. Here are the questions that are included in the survey:
1) The Tax Foundation (http://www.taxfoundation.org/) has ranked Pennsylvania #47 for business property tax burden in its annual rating of business-friendly states. The School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) proposes to reduce business school property taxes by 50%; it is estimated that this will generate as many as 100,000 new jobs each year by attracting new business to Pennsylvania. Some House Democrats will not support HB 1275, calling this reduction “corporate welfare”.
Question: If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to the reduction of school property taxes for business by 50%?
2) The School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) is financed in part by expanding the current sales tax base to include more services such as architect’s fees, health club memberships, and lawyer’s fees. It has been reported that some lawyers are objecting to a sales tax on their services and are lobbying for the defeat of HB 1275.
Question: If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to the broadening of the sales tax base to include attorney’s fees?
3) Under the provisions of the School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275), non-profit organizations will continue to be exempt from paying sales taxes on goods and services that they purchase. However, any goods or services sold by the organizations to consumers will be subject to sales tax in the same manner as commercial stores.
Question: If school property taxes on your home are COMPLETELY ELIMINATED, do you object to paying sales tax on goods sold by non-profit organizations?
Besides the YES/NO questions in the survey, it would be appreciated if you would add your comments about these issues to this PTCC blog post (below) for all to read or e-mail them to pataxpayers@gmail.com. Any personal information that you choose to submit will remain confidential but survey results and anonymous quotes may be sent to politicians by the PTCC to show support for HB 1275.
Please help. Your participation in this survey will be greatly appreciated.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In closing, I want to thank all of you for your continuing support of our efforts to achieve honest, equitable school finance reform. Please work to enlist the help of your family, friends, and neighbors in this campaign so we can have an even larger base of support for the benefit of all Pennsylvania taxpayers and schoolchildren. Please forward this e-mail to as many folks as possible! The more hands, the better!
Your questions and concerns are always welcome – please write to me at pataxpayers@gmail.com.
David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
http://www.ptcc.us/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Republican Caucus Leader:
Hon. Samuel H. Smith
527 East Mahoning Street
Punxsutawney, PA 15767
(814) 938-4225
Fax: (814) 938-1950
ssmith@pahousegop.com
Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson
Democratic Caucus Leader:
Hon. H. William DeWeese
222 Elm Drive
Suite 101, P.O. Box 832
Waynesburg, PA 15370
(724) 627-8683
Fax: (724) 627-6043
wdeweese@pahouse.net
Fayette, Greene, Washington
Democratic Caucus Whip:
Hon. Keith R. McCall
162 West Ridge Street
Lansford, PA 18232
(570) 645-7585
Fax: (570) 645-9526
kmccall@pahouse.net
Carbon
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