Talk, talk
Our state Legislature has earned a well-deserved reputation for talking things to death and, in the end, accomplishing nothing.
A perfect example of that is the issue of school property taxes. Everyone agrees they are regressive, hard to administer fairly and politically unpopular. They’re a particular burden for senior citizens who often times have to sell their homes because they can’t pay school property taxes.
So, why haven’t they been eliminated? The issue has been talked about in the Legislature for decades. but the big obstacle has been trying to find a way to replace the $12 billion, which property taxes bring in across the state.
There was some progress made last year. Act 76 also known as the Property Tax Independence Act would have eliminated school property taxes and replaced them by raising the personal income tax from 3.07 percent to 4.34 percent and taking the state’s sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent and including a number of items currently exempt.
However, the best part of the bill is that all the money from the personal income and sales taxes would be pooled and distributed equally among school districts across the state.
That would definitely help Fayette County’s school districts, which can’t raise as much money through school property taxes as their counterparts can in wealthier school districts like Upper St. Clair and Mount Lebanon.
Ninety legislators signed on as cosponsors, but Republican leaders trotted out their own bill at the last minute, giving school boards the power to reduce property taxes in favor of unspecified higher taxes on residents and businesses.
Many noted school boards would be hard-pressed to deal with such a controversial measure. However, it passed 149-46 while Act 76 was defeated 138-59.
The GOP measure went nowhere in the state Senate, but Act 76 remained alive with strong support from Republicans David G. Argall and Mike Folmer. Twenty-five lawmakers have signed on to the bill, which was backed by both Republicans and Democrats.
Opposition, though, resurfaced during a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. On the right, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry contended the sales tax would hurt retailers, especially businesses who are currently exempt.
On the left, the Pennsylvania Budget and Police Center warned that the overall pot of money wouldn’t be enough to educate all students across the state.
Folmer acknowledged lawmakers “cannot make a perfect world” but claimed the positive aspects of the bill far outweighed any negative parts.
Argall insisted that the bill would be voted out of committee and come before the full Senate before it recessed for summer. Nothing happened. The bill didn’t even make it out of committee, never mind coming before the full Senate.
Still, Argall and Folmer remain confident that the measure will eventually be passed by the state Senate. In a statement issued recently in conjunction with three Democratic senators, they said they remain committed to eliminating school property taxes.
It’s possible the issue could come up in the fall, but that’s doubtful, considering that lawmakers have an abbreviated schedule, and they’ll be loath to vote on anything controversial before the November election.
So, that pushes it back to next year when the Legislature reconvenes in January. It’s possible that new lawmakers could be elected who would want to deal with this hot potato. But considering how many years it’s been tossed around, that’s rather unlikely.
In all probability, the talking will continue, but so will the inaction, which is a shame. This is an issue which deserves a fair and open debate but also some action to help beleaguered homeowners across the state.