One Size Can Fit All!

Many people have written to me asking for lists of Representatives and Senators and ask to whom they should write. My answer is always the same…ALL OF THEM!

I recently received correspondence from a Representative, who shall remain nameless, in response to one of the many e-mails I had sent. The e-mail began by saying: “don't usually respond to "out of towners," but I wanted to remind you that many of us, while hoping for a workable property tax relief plan for seniors on fixed incomes, still do not want to eliminate the property tax.”

This representative’s district is within 35 miles of my home….not sure if that makes me an “out of towner” or not. It is a district with much industry that greatly reduces the homeowner’s share of the school property tax burden. I find it hard to believe, that given the opportunity to fund education differently, that the constituency in this district still would not be delighted to eliminate their school property tax bill every year regardless of the amount. The closing statement on this e-mail read: “Please consider the differing circumstances in the state and recognize that no "one size fits all solution" will work for Pennsylvania.”

Well guess what…it is a one size fits all problem…and Harrisburg had better find a one size fits all solution. It needs to be a one size fits all solution that will work for all residential property tax paying citizens (don’t forget…we are the majority). The best “one size fits all” solution is the elimination of school property taxes and the re-thinking about the way our schools are funded.

What I do recognize is the fact that the votes of all Representatives and all Senators, regardless of the district that elected them, produce changes in law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and thus affect my life as a resident. It is an all or nothing situation because change in law affects each and every one of us.

We do not call these people District Representatives or District Senators. They are PA STATE officials. Regardless of who put them in office, they work for all of us. KEEP WRITING TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM….THEIR VOTE WILL IMPACT DIRECTLY ON YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com for e-mail lists of Representators and Senators

Taxation Without Representation???

We can no longer say that we have “taxation without representation” but we can however say that we have “taxation without competent representation”.

This week the Senate held specials sessions to discuss Senate Bill 854. For those of you who are not familiar with this bill I will give you a very brief explanation.

1) Expanded sales and use tax to include some business transactions, advertising, accounting, consulting services, basic telephone service, amusement/movie theater admissions, dry cleaning, clothing alterations/shoe repair, vending machines, so on and so on and so on. No tax levied on food or clothing (only candy).

2) Promises a 40% reduction in property tax.

3) Will increase PIT from 3.07% to 3.29%

These are the very basics of the bill on which they are preparing to take a vote!

Now lets look at the ramifications:

1) Businesses are rallying to fight against the broadened sales and use tax as it relates to their business. They will probably win because the Business Associations are a large special interest group within the State. I found it interesting to hear PA Institute of Certified Public Accountants testify that “residential property tax can not be carried on the backs of already over taxed business”. Imagine that! They may as well have said “but it should be carried on the backs of the already over taxed residential property owners”. The amount of tax relief that is being proposed is built on the expanded tax structure. If the business community wins, the amount scheduled for relief will probably be even lower!

2) When they talk about the 40% reduction…..LISTEN UP!!! Legislature will approve a 40% property tax reduction based on the “mean” tax bill in the county. You need to find out from your elected officials what the "mean" tax bill is for your county and find out what this will mean in tax relief for you. In some cases this may be of little help.

3) I say this because by the time your school board increases your taxes in 2006, the government reaches into your pocket and raises your PIT/EIT or possibly both, you pay the additional broadened sales and use tax throughout the year….guess what….your tax relief is gone…and maybe more….you could actually pay more in 2006 if this bill is passed than you would if they passed nothing at all!

Keep in mind that as long as local authority, by way of your school boards, have the power to continue to raise your school property taxes they will increase.

I have been saying, and continue to say, if we do not call, e-mail, write to those who are making these decisions we will get the short end of the stick AGAIN!

DO NOT LIE DOWN AND LET THEM PASS LEGISLATION THAT DOES NOT TOTALLY ELIMINATE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES!! IF YOU DON’T FIGHT NOW….YOU ARE GOING TO PAY LATER!

If special interest groups can get the attention of the Senate….so can we! We should call our special interest group "TRUMPP" (Tax Reform for the Unheard/Unappreciated/Unrepresented Majority of Pennsylvania Property-owners). We hold the "trump card" come election time and we are a voice to be reckoned with! Which "U" are you?

For e-mail lists of Representatives and Senators contact http://www.nopropertytaxes.com/

Patience Is A Virtue, Possess It If You Can......

Since I started this blog I have heard from so many property owners/taxpayers across Pennsylvania that are feeling totally defeated. Because of this I thought it appropriate to address a posting regarding the issue of “instant gratification”. Just remember that these defeated, frustrated taxpayers collectively represent the majority of Pennsylvanians.

We are a society that has become so accustomed to instant gratification. We send e-mail, we get an immediate response; we want to purchase something, we use a credit card; we want food, we go out and buy it; etc., etc., etc. Unlike many places in the world where everything is a fight for the right!

The battle that is being fought for property tax reform has no instant gratification. We write, we e-mail, we call those that are making decisions that directly impact our lives. But, for this battle there is no instant gratification! Should there be instant gratification? YES! But it probably “ain’t gonna” happen! Write to me and I'll tell you why!

Yes, government may adopt a plan for token tax relief but the battle is not over until the taxpayers say it is over. We need to plant our feet, voice our opinion and fight for what we want for as long as it takes to get it done.

It may take time but only our perseverance will get the job accomplished. Yes, sometimes it is disheartening, and yes, sometimes you feel defeated….but….that is the exact outcome expected by your government, starting with Ed Rendell. They are sitting back waiting for the e-mails to subside, for the phones to stop ringing, for the citizen taxpayer to feel totally defeated.

Every e-mail you send, every letter you write, every phone call you make MEANS SOMETHING! This is the only way our legislators know that our silent majority is alive and well and keeping the press on them for meaningful reform.

Talk to anyone who will listen, send information to your e-mail list of friends, family and acquaintances. This is not a local issue….it is a state-wide issue….and we need property owners state-wide to join in the fight. Flood the computers of all the elected officials with e-mails stating that we will not accept token relief.

They may win the initial battle but if we stick together, one voice..one cause, we will eventually win the war!!

BUT DON’T LOOK FOR INSTANT GRATIFICATION….IT JUST WON’T HAPPEN!

nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com for e-mail lists of House and Senate members

Fiscal Irresponsibility On The Local Level

Here is a prime example of the fiscal irresponsibility of our local school board. Our school property taxes are going to increase in 2006 and with the poor planning we see at our local level our school property taxes will continue to increase at a rapid rate for years to come. AND OUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WANT TO LEAVE TOTAL CONTROL OF FUNDING EDUCATION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL! Following is a copy of a letter sent to homeowner's in the DBSD area. Keep in mind that we opened a new elementary school in 2002 and a new middle school in 2005, this is the third new school which is planned to open in 2007.

School Tax Paying Friends and Neighbors,

As you all may know there is a new elementary school planned on Monocacy Creek Road in Monocacy. What most people may not be aware of is the fact that the property selected for this new project is totally inadequate.

First of all, the ground that the school is to be built on is too small for what is planned. The school is being built to house 400/650 children. The parking that they are able to provide will be for 190 to 240 cars max (we do not know exactly how many spaces there will be as of this writing). Parking will be a serious problem for school events but according to a comment by Mr. Robbins, our school superintendent, it will be a ”first come first served” as far as parking for school events that involve your children. Unlike the Amity Intermediate Center that opened in 2002 and is built in the middle of a development, there will be no place for overflow parking at this new facility. Big traffic and safety concern!

The grounds are surrounded by active railroad tracks to the south and the Monocacy Creek to the west. There are plans to fence along the railroad side (as much as they can because of the lay of the land) but there are no plans to completely fence in the entire area to protect our children. Big, big safety concerns.

But, one of the worst parts of the plan is the condemning of parts of two properties that are adjacent to the school owned grounds. Yes, there was condemnation of property when the Amity Intermediate Unit was built, but it did not effect any HOMES. These homeowner's are losing property within feet of their front porch steps....one homeowner could actually lose their garage because it is in the construction easement, another Historical home will lose a part of its picket fence that also is within feet of their front door, all in order to widen the narrow state owned road. One family will lose property up to the front steps of their home. Their front steps will empty onto the edge of the road. This is a family with two small children and no one on the School Board seems to give a hoot about the safety issues that surround these plans. This was obvious when the board was confronted at a December school board meeting.

The school is being built for the anticipated growth in Union Township over the next 3 to 5 years, as well as, the closing of the present Monocacy kindergarten and Amity/Birdsboro overflow. It is projected that the new school will/may require the addition of approximately 8 more classrooms by the end of the population boom. This addition makes things even tighter. We are building a school on a campus that, for all intents and purposes, we have outgrown before it is even built. There is not even enough property to add mobile trailers for classrooms if and when the need arises.

The entire plan has been very poorly put together. The School District should consider selling the current parcel of land and buying property somewhere that they are not under as many constraints in order to develop the kind of safe, expandable school that we are going to need. It appears, once again, our school board has no concern for the money that we as taxpayers are going to spend on a school that from the beginning will be inadequate and then will have to construct another multi million dollar school on another parcel of ground somewhere else anyway.

Because of the horrendous safety issues and the apparently poor insight of those that are doing the planning, we are asking you to please call the Daniel Boone Area School District Administration Building and voice your concerns about the welfare of your neighbors and most importantly the welfare of our children. It is not too late to acquire a change for the better if we all work together to make it happen.

Please contact School Administration at telephone number 610-582-6140 orFAX number 610-582-0059.

The Silent Majority Is Silent No Longer

Government beware! The silent majority has found its voice! And we, the Pennsylvania property owners, are the majority!

As Pennsylvania citizens we have sat back for years allowing whatever happens in our State government to happen. NO MORE!

The strongest voice of the citizens of Pennsylvania rose over the government pay increases that happened in the dead of night and without public notice or debate. With one voice and one cause, we the people, managed to have the pay increases repealed.

Right now in Harrisburg, these same people are making decisions that are going to effect your life even more than the pay increase issue. Decisions are being made concerning your property taxes. Legislators are scrambling to try and come up with a proposal for token tax relief that they believe will quiet the Pennsylvania homeowners. Don’t let them get away with it!

Across the State your local school boards are behind closed doors calculating how much they are going to increase your school property tax for the 2006-2007 school year. Yes, Pennsylvanians, get ready for the news! Before the news breaks get involved! We are all busy, we all work, but if each voice isn't heard in Harrisburg like it was for the pay increases we will lose the battle.
Everyone who pays school property taxes needs to get involved. E-mails, phone calls, letters, whatever you can do....but DO something!

The biggest reasons that school property taxes have spun out of control are the facts that the majority of local school boards are fiscally irresponsible and have no concern for the taxpayers in their districts and the consistent annual reductions by the Pennsylvania legislature of the share of education costs paid by the State.

It is time for meaningful tax reform. It is time for SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION! It is time to remove authority from the local school district level. As long as local authority rules, no matter what tax relief our legislators provide, the school property tax will continue to rise until we are right back once again at “ground zero”. Our system of funding education in Pennsylvania is falling apart….we need change and we need it now!

Please continue to e-mail representatives and legislators and let them know that nothing short of SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION is acceptable. For information concerning e-mail address contact nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com and we will be happy to provide you with complete e-mail lists.

Special Session Overrun by Special Interests

If anyone had the opportunity to watch the Senate Hearings on PCN today concerning Property Tax Relief proposals you will note that special interest groups had a lot to say about not broadening sales tax to businesses. Lobbyist groups such as large businesses, accountants, lawyers, real estate industry, insurance groups, etc, etc, etc, do not want to see property tax reform.

Which politicians are in the "back pocket" of these special interest groups? Pennsylvanians have a right to know how much special interests are spending on legislators to influence the laws that are passed. And they definitely do influence decisions made by our elected officials.

Visit http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05342/619014.stm to read an article published on Post-Gazette.com in December, 2005 that addresses the issue of special interest groups.

We need to start asking our elected officials why the House has not adopted Senate Bill 1 on lobbyist registration. And, does this have anything to do with the apparent "fumbling" around the issue of property tax reform? YOU BET IT DOES!

nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com for e-mail list of House and Senate members