Keep The Fight Alive!
Keep the fight alive! It is obvious that our legislators are not going to pass any meaningful property tax reform. There are many reasons why!
First and foremost is the fact that property tax reform in many areas of Pennsylvania seems to be a non-issue so why would representatives and senators vote positively.
Until the homeowner’s throughout the Commonwealth understand that, at a minimum, school property tax can be eliminated, we will not see change. People across the state must become as angry about property taxes as they were about the “pay hikes”.
Most people are not interested in or are afraid of broadened sales and use tax. What may not be understood is that by broadening sales and use tax we can eliminate our biggest burden, which is school property taxes.
Even if a school property tax bill would be only $500.00…..that is $500.00 too much. That same homeowner would have to spend $10,000 in one year on taxable commodities to equal their school property tax bill. The above is an extremely low estimate. Let’s consider the homeowner that is paying $2000.00 per year in school tax…they would have to spend $40,000 on taxable items in one year to equal their school property tax bill.
There is a need to educate the public in general about property tax reform. I can’t believe that if people understood the benefits associated with broadened sales and use tax they would not support it.
Property tax reform needs to happen. Not just property tax relief! Even if the state, in its generosity, gives each homeowner $400.00 in property tax relief how long do you think it will take before your local school board increases your taxes and steals away any relief you might see. The state needs to rescind local school board authority by way of education finance reform, which goes hand in hand with school property tax elimination.
Our elected officials have gone out of their way to keep property tax reform quiet. It is time that we as middle class Pennsylvania homeowner’s get loud!
I continue to encourage everyone to e-mail you friends, family, business acquaintances and educate them as to the benefits of property tax reform as opposed to property tax relief. Unless we get the word out there and have people across the state tell their elected officials that they want school property tax elimination it will not matter who is seated in the House and the Senate….property tax reform won’t happen!
Continue to e-mail representatives and senators to let them know that you want school property tax elimination. Regardless of where these representatives and senators are from they will vote on this issue which in turn directly impacts on your quality of life! Remember, they ALL work for ALL of us!
Please keep the fight alive!
For complete lists of e-mails for Representatives and Senators please write to nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com
First and foremost is the fact that property tax reform in many areas of Pennsylvania seems to be a non-issue so why would representatives and senators vote positively.
Until the homeowner’s throughout the Commonwealth understand that, at a minimum, school property tax can be eliminated, we will not see change. People across the state must become as angry about property taxes as they were about the “pay hikes”.
Most people are not interested in or are afraid of broadened sales and use tax. What may not be understood is that by broadening sales and use tax we can eliminate our biggest burden, which is school property taxes.
Even if a school property tax bill would be only $500.00…..that is $500.00 too much. That same homeowner would have to spend $10,000 in one year on taxable commodities to equal their school property tax bill. The above is an extremely low estimate. Let’s consider the homeowner that is paying $2000.00 per year in school tax…they would have to spend $40,000 on taxable items in one year to equal their school property tax bill.
There is a need to educate the public in general about property tax reform. I can’t believe that if people understood the benefits associated with broadened sales and use tax they would not support it.
Property tax reform needs to happen. Not just property tax relief! Even if the state, in its generosity, gives each homeowner $400.00 in property tax relief how long do you think it will take before your local school board increases your taxes and steals away any relief you might see. The state needs to rescind local school board authority by way of education finance reform, which goes hand in hand with school property tax elimination.
Our elected officials have gone out of their way to keep property tax reform quiet. It is time that we as middle class Pennsylvania homeowner’s get loud!
I continue to encourage everyone to e-mail you friends, family, business acquaintances and educate them as to the benefits of property tax reform as opposed to property tax relief. Unless we get the word out there and have people across the state tell their elected officials that they want school property tax elimination it will not matter who is seated in the House and the Senate….property tax reform won’t happen!
Continue to e-mail representatives and senators to let them know that you want school property tax elimination. Regardless of where these representatives and senators are from they will vote on this issue which in turn directly impacts on your quality of life! Remember, they ALL work for ALL of us!
Please keep the fight alive!
For complete lists of e-mails for Representatives and Senators please write to nopropertytaxes@yahoo.com
posted by Helen | 1:45 PM
2 Comments:
Dear Taxpayer 2,
Thanks so much for your recent comments. You have made some very valid points. I do believe in elimination of property tax for residential properties. I don't believe we should expand that relief into business. It is the elderly and middle class that are currently shouldering the burden of school property tax because business and the wealthy have ways of sheltering their monies.
I would like to point out that your figures on taxes on a $200,000 home were incorrect. If taxes are 24.50 mills that would equal $24.50 on each thousand of assessed value which would be $4,900.00 per year in school property tax alone. This amount is not enough to cover the cost of education for 1 child under our current system. But, people like myself, who have no children in school are paying this tax. Berks County where I live is a very high senior population.
Yes, our Governor states that the cost of education is over $9,000 per student. In looking carefully at the budgeting process within my district I can assure you that there is a tremendous amount of money wasted. Various school districts spend between $4,000 and $9,000 per student annually. The wealthier the community the more the school district can tax and spend. Our school districts in many areas across the Commonwealth are operating in a deficit and continue to look to taxpayers in the community as a bottomless source of revenues.
Yes, most definitely school mandates are unfunded or severly underfunded. This situation needs to be corrected. Teachers contracts have spun out of control and need to be reevaluated. This is a whole other area that I will not go into at this time but to say that this area needs serious attention for many, many reasons.
I believe that our children are our future and do not want to see anything happen that would diminish quality of education. But some of our "taj mahal" expensive schools do nothing to improve academic achievement. They are more spectacular that some city college campuses. We need to get serious about education and see that all children are educated in the same way regardless of the wealth of the community in which they live.
I still believe that a broadened sales and use tax would equally distribute the burden of taxes. Yes, it is a regressive tax but in reality no more regressive than taxing people on their real property. Our seniors, after working all their lives and paying off their mortgages, cannot afford to be paying rent to the Commonwealth by way of property taxes. And, our middle class who are struggling to make it are being taxed out of their homes with the ever increasing school property taxes. My taxes have gone up 82% in only 9 years. Where does it end?
I still believe that the State needs to take control of school budgeting in order to end the free for all spending occurring in many districts. The correct vehicle to make this successful would need to be carefully thought out before put in place but I do believe that it can work. It has been very successful in other states and can work in Pennsylvania also.
I really appreciated hearing from you and would like to keep an open dialogue. It is good for all of us concerned to keep an open mind and share our ideas.
Helen
I too am a long standing Pa residence. Answer one question. Why should those who no longer have children in school continue to fund our under educated and failing education system with our hard earned dollars? This doesn't just speak to senior citizens! I mean all who no longer have school age children.
When my kids were young the school board and meetings were a farce. Our neighborhood joined in and even filed petitions, NOT TO BUILD A NEW EXPENSIVE SCHOOL in Topton.
We knew it would dramatically raise our taxes!
This went un-noticed.
Obviously, our elected officials and school board could care less what the common citizen thinks.
REPEAL ALL SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX. Let them find the money somewhere else that is more fair to the population. Stop using the middle age American home owner to fund your pet projects to which we had no vote.
We all want good education for children with quality schools, Let's make sure everyone takes an equal share of the decision and responsibility.
Thank You
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