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/
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11 comments:
When are our politicians going to realize that their versions of "property tax relief" are a sham that do nothing to solve the root cause of skyrocketing property taxes.
Property taxes are going through the roof because the state has FAILED in its committment to support education, thus making each district overly reliant on local sources of funding.
For districts in affluent areas, or areas with valuable commercial property, this is not a significant issue. However, for districts in less affluent areas, without a number of large businesses to provide support, the property taxes have to be much higher just to give them the same amount per child as the affluent districts.
Then, to further complicate matters, these poorer districts are the very ones serving higher ESL and socio-economic disadvantaged students.
Isn't the idea of public education an equal education for all? Not in Pennsylvania, at least under our current system.
The only tax bill I've seen that makes tax reform about education is HB 1275. All the rest are busy making the appearance of reforming our tax system, all while giving just a token rebate to those being taxed the most, all without doing a thing to change the distribution of assets. It's kind of like a doctor giving you aspiring to make your pneumonia symptoms go away...it might make you feel better for 4 hours or so, but after that, you still have pneumonia, and it still has to be dealt with!
As one who testified before the House Finance Committee on HB 1600, not only am I convinced that it is a bad bill and an affront to the taxpayers, but any politician that supports this scam is not worthy of holding office.
By the same standards, anyone who does not support HB 1275 is denying the taxpayers, home owners and businesses the relief deserved and needed.
As a member of the Patriotic Sons of America (POS of A) I wrote a resolution in support of HB 1275, which passed unanimously at their state convention. After years of an underworked and overpaid legislature that simply can’t “Get ‘er done”, action is well overdue. We need to all take note how our representative votes on these and other property tax bills and remember their names when the next “House” cleaning cycle arrives.
After over five years of working with elected officials and taxpayer associations with the ultimate goal of abolishing property tax, I too am “Mad as Hell”.
Never Forget!
How can this bill be stonwalled? It gets tons of press, it is supported by so many people and tax groups. It actually does what so many representatives have pledged they would accomplish during their campaigns to get elected. What is their agenda for stonewalling this bill?
This development is nothing but sleazy, rotten politics and anyone who is the least bit responsible for bottling up HB 1275 in committee MUST be voted out in 2008. That includes DeWeese, McCall, Levdansky, and Evans.
The Democrat leaders have shown complete cowardice by not allowing this bill to be openly debated and are obviously more concerned with the special interests and the governor’s wrath than they are with the welfare of the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.
We, the people, have the power of the vote, not the special interests or the governor. Get rid of all of them in 2008!
Any Chance of getting 10000 "mad as hell taxpayes" to drive to Harrisburg and shut down their vechicles in mass on the Turnpike, I-81 and I-83 and shut down the state untill this bill is voted on? It's time to show "we're not going to take it anymore"
Another interesting aspect is that Republicans such as House Minority Leader Smith and the "shadow leader" Perzel should stand for "fiscal responsibility," but they are against HB 1275, why? Is it to bow down to lobbies such as the PA Bar Associaon and others? Why does only ONE (1) Bucks County Representative support HB 1275, do they all have to follow the leader, why not follow the request of the Bucks County voter/taxpayers?
JOE GABLE
I think we should start planning our campaign to eliminate legislators that do not vote for or support HB 1275 this week.
Our new slogan could be "eliminate school property tax or eliminate your representative status".
If you want to know how inequitable property taxes really are, look up homes in your area on assessment records. You will find none are accurate. Two homes of identical value will have different assessments.
Your neighbor may have a home identical to you but, be paying either more or less than you in property tax in the $100's or even $1000's.
The politicians know this, but ignore this. Merely reducing an unfair assessment is a sin.
Elimination is the answer.
property owners need a living active membership association ptcc is not enough,the corrupt school tax system is supported by peaple that benefit by it.
I am a Real Estate Agent who is sitting at my desk with at least 25 folders of home loan defaults.
Most of these homeowners would not be in this situation if they did not have to pay $200-300 PER MONTH for property taxes on top of ever increasing monthly energy bills.
The boom to Pennsylvania if property taxes were eliminated would probably be as never before seen.
Perhaps we should put up a website with the domain of "ilostmypahome.com" because of extreme property taxes and our legislators refusal to act on property tax elimination.
We could have everyone that lost their home list it on the website and perhaps we could shame the lawmakers into action.
Just a thought, I have little to no faith in our lawmakers.
Thanks for your efforts on behalf of this Pennsylvanian.
ptcc should call a meeting,conference,forum etc. develope a membership drive,collect dues etc and help built a real property owners asso.complaining on web is not enough.g. arroyo 610-226-7486
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