Update - The SPTEA is introduced!

07 November 2009

Dear Friends,

It’s been quite a while since our last PTCC Update since not much had been happening. But suddenly, when it rains, it pours!

The SPTEA is introduced!

On October 29 Representative Sam Rohrer, along with thirty-one bipartisan co-sponsors, formally introduced the School Property Tax Elimination Act in the House of Representatives as House Bill (HB) 1275.

HB 1275 has been referred to the House Finance Committee for consideration. Its fate is now in the hands of the House Democrats who, as the majority party, control the flow of legislation. They have an abominable record for supporting school property tax elimination measures so we'll have to do whatever is possible to get the bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote. I’ll have details on how you can help in a future PTCC Update.

The list of HB 1275 co-sponsors is available on the PTCC website here. Please consider sending an e-mail to thank those Representatives who co-sponsored. You might also want to send a letter or e-mail or make a phone call to your Representative if he or she is not on the list to strongly urge him or her to add their name as a co-sponsor of the SPTEA. It’s never too late for them to do this. And, please, don’t accept any their useless excuses – there are none!

You can find your Representative’s contact information through the “Find Your Legislators” link on the PTCC homepage.

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Act 1 Index

What’s your potential school property tax increase for 2010? The Pennsylvania Department of Education has released the 2010-2011 Act 1 index that shows the maximum allowable tax increase before exception or referendum.

For the 2010-2011 school year the average increase in the Act 1 index for all Pennsylvania school districts is 3.8%; the largest increase is 4.7% with the smallest at 2.9%. This increase is interesting because during the one year period September 2008 to September 2009 the Consumer Price Index (CPI), an inflation measure, was a deflationary -1.3% (U.S. Department of Labor, October 2009).

More information about the index and a complete listing for all Pennsylvania school districts are available on the PTCC website here. The index is available as a downloadable PDF (Acrobat) file.

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Gambling expansion to include table games

Speaking of Act 1, the terrific property tax “relief” we’ve been receiving from the legalized gaming in Pennsylvania supported by Act 1 may be even less with the expansion to table games that was included as part of the 2009-2010 state budget package.

At this point the increased revenues from the table games legislation does not include any distribution for property tax relief – all taxes collected from this new law will be used for general fund expenditures.

But to make matters worse, it is predicted that table games will attract some slots players, reducing the revenue from slot machines that is dedicated to property tax relief. In addition, it is also predicted that some casinos will reduce the number of slot machines available to clear floor space for table games, further reducing the revenue from slots. If you think the current property tax relief from gambling is paltry now, wait until the table games start siphoning money from the relief fund!

This is just one more reason why the bogus Act 1 property tax relief from gambling needs to be repealed and property tax elimination enacted through the School Property Tax Elimination Act.

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The Autumn 2009 SPTEA Promo Pack

Mike Fogarty of the PCTA’s Coatesville group has compiled a downloadable package of promotional goodies to help you spread the word about the SPTEA. The package includes posters, letters, and information about the looming 2012 public employees’ pension spike that will strongly affect your property taxes.

The Promo Pack is available on the PTCC website here.

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New PCTA Member Groups!

Since the last PTCC Update the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations (PCTA) has added two dynamic new groups to our growing alliance for a total of thirty-four dedicated taxpayer advocacy organizations!

In August, PA Tax Talk from Montgomery County joined the PCTA’s effort for the enactment of the School Property Tax Elimination Act. PA Tax Talk is eager to welcome new Southeast PA members; contact Ernie Rosato at support@pataxtalk.com to help the cause.

In September, the PCTA added the Concerned Citizens of Bethlehem Area School District from Northampton County to the roster. The CC-BASD is a very active organization with regularly scheduled meetings and would certainly welcome your participation as a member. Contact Patty Felix at cclvpa@gmail.com to join their efforts.

The PCTA heartily welcomes PA Tax Talk and CC-BASD to the PCTA! We’re pleased to have you on board to keep the momentum building.

If you’re fed up with unfair taxation and unresponsive politicians and would like to form your own taxpayer advocacy group, contact any PCTA member group for advice and assistance. The PCTA members are listed on the PTCC website here. It’s easy to do and we’ll give you all the help you need.

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PCTA-SPTEA regional taxpayer meetings a success!

The PCTA-sponsored October meetings in Wilkes-Barre and Duncannon to explain and promote the School Property Tax Elimination Act were a huge success, with hundreds of attendees eager to lean the details of the SPTEA. The PCTA gained many new supporters who are very enthusiastic about working for the enactment of the SPTEA and we are pleased to welcome them to the cause.

We are grateful for the hard work of arranging and staging these meetings that was done by PCTA member groups: Citizens Against Property Taxes (Luzerne County), Scranton and Lackawanna County Taxpayers’ and Citizens’ Association, Wyoming County Concerned Taxpayers, The Patriot’s Voice (Columbia County), and Citizens for the Elimination of Property Taxes (Perry County). Our thanks, too, to Sue Henry of WILK Radio for being a true believer in our efforts and for hosting the Northeast meeting.

The PCTA will be sponsoring more of these meetings in the future, so please keep watch for a PTCC Update announcing a meeting in your area.


The PTCC and PCTA are proud to have all of you as Update subscribers and supporters of the SPTEA. We can’t get this job done without you and we are pleased to have you by our side in our fight for true education finance reform. Thank you!

That’s all for now. Please write if you have questions or concerns.

David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator
pataxpayers@gmail.com