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 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.
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PTCC Blog
Please feel free to add your comments on the current pathetic state of this issue at the bottom of this blog entry.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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PTCC Blog
Please feel free to add your comments on the current pathetic state of this issue at the bottom of this blog entry.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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
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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
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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/
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