Property Tax Propaganda is Just a Broken Promise

 

There may not be an issue more important to me than property tax reform. It was one of the main platforms of my campaign to be your State Representative back in 2006, and it is an issue I feel is truly vital for our region’s long-term stability.

Last week, the House of Representatives took up House Bill 1600, which would have taken the property tax relief coming to every homeowner from the slots money, coupled it with a 0.5% increase in the sales tax and a raise in the personal income tax from 3.07% to 3.29%. This would have pulled money in from wealthier school districts and distributed it more equally statewide, which is exactly what school districts like Avella, Burgettstown, Fort Cherry and others need to survive.

I sat down and crunched the numbers myself, and I was encouraged by what I saw. Most of my constituents would have seen their property taxes drop anywhere from 40% – 65%, and senior citizens would still be eligible for the Property Tax Rebate Program, which would have totally eliminated school property taxes for many senior citizens. Make no mistake; while not perfect, House Bill 1600 was a pretty good plan for the people of the 46^th Legislative District, and I was excited to be able to vote for some real property tax reform.

But before we could vote on the bill, we had to deal with an amendment from Representative John Perzel, a Republican from Philadelphia who as former Speaker of the House engineered the Legislative Pay Raise of 2005. The Perzel Amendment was what we call a “gut and replace” amendment, which means it takes the original bill, throws it out, and replaces it with a totally new bill. Under the Perzel Amendment, all senior citizens over age 65 that make less than $40,000 per year would get a 100% reimbursement on their school property taxes. Sounds good, right?

The problem is that in order to provide that relief to low income seniors, the Perzel Amendment eliminated all of the other tax relief for everyone else. Instead of property tax reform for all 3.5 million Pennsylvania homeowners, the Perzel Amendment gave all the money to 630,000 low income senior citizens (92,000 of which come from Philadelphia, by the way).

It was a political Sophie’s Choice. If I voted for the Perzel Amendment, I was voting to take away property tax relief that had been promised to every Pennsylvania homeowner, and if I voted against the Perzel Amendment, I was voting against eliminating property taxes for low income senior citizens. But that’s what this was all about; it was a political power move to force people like me into making a wildly unpopular vote either way. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about it this election season.

In the end, the Perzel Amendment passed by a vote of 159-36. I was one of the “no” votes, and I think it’s important for you to know why I ultimately voted the way I did.

First, under the original version of House Bill 1600, many more of my constituents would have gotten substantial tax relief, and many seniors would have had their school property taxes totally eliminated anyhow. But there was a more basic and fundamental method to my apparent madness. When gaming was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2004, the Legislature made a promise to the people of Pennsylvania that their property taxes would be reduced as a result; it was back before I was elected, but I felt very strongly about keeping a promise that was given in good faith.

When you look at the explosion of mortgage foreclosures in Pennsylvania, most of the people who can’t  afford their payments are working families struggling to keep their heads above water. One of the biggest problems facing our region is the fact that we are losing our young people to other states because they can’t find jobs here. If that is the case, how can any intelligent person justify shifting our entire property tax burden onto those very same young people we’re desperately trying to keep here?

I refuse to turn my back on them because it looks good politically. I just won’t break that promise. The Perzel Amendment to House Bill 1600 is political grandstanding at its absolute worst, selling 2.8 million Pennsylvanians down the river to pander to 630,000 people who just happen to be members of the largest voting block in the state.

So what happens now? Just because I voted against the Perzel Amendment, it does not mean I will vote against the bill when it comes up for a vote. I am still committed to real property tax reform, so we will be looking at more amendments to undo the damage that has been done before a final vote is taken. And even if nothing else happens, every homeowner will get some property tax relief this summer under the original Act 1 legislation.

Don’t listen to the people on talk radio who are lining up around the corner to pander to senior citizens on this issue. If you don’t believe me and want me to walk through the numbers of both bills with you, please contact me. I will never cast a vote in Harrisburg that I can’t defend back home, and I stand ready to do just that. You deserve the facts, not more half-truths, political games and broken promises.