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Piccola Issues Statement Urging Adoption of Fair,
Meaningful Property Tax Relief Through Sales Tax Expansion
HARRISBURG -- Senate
Majority Whip Jeffrey E. Piccola (R-15) reiterated his call for the General
Assembly to enact meaningful and bold property tax reform that abandons the
current antiquated system in Pennsylvania and replaces it with a sales tax
expansion.
“For the last 30 years, we
have tinkered around the edges of school property taxes, enacting only band aids
that covered gaping wounds. From the Casey plan of the late 1980's, to the
Homestead Exemption and Act 50 of the late 1990's, to Act 72 of last year, we
have taken tiny baby steps and delivered nothing to the taxpayers of
Pennsylvania. It is now time to stop making promises we cannot fulfill and
start delivering, not reform or relief, but the total elimination of real
property taxes to fund public education in Pennsylvania.
“As of today, both chambers
of the Legislature have adopted different proposals to slightly reduce school
property taxes, but neither one solves the problem. Both proposals raise other
taxes with no real guarantee that school property taxes won't climb back up --
and they will go back up.
“The message that I am
hearing from taxpayers all over Pennsylvania is: 'eliminate school property
taxes.' The best way to replace them is with a lower but broadened sales tax.
I applaud the House of Representatives for beginning to recognize this as a
viable option. Their plan does broaden the sales tax but unfortunately not
enough.
“In addition, their plan
taxes income at an unacceptably higher rate which hurts working families and
small business. The fatal flaw of the plan is that it does not eliminate school
property taxes, nor does it provide a road map to how we might get to total
elimination.
“My proposal along with the
one put forth by the Commonwealth Caucus not only rids us of the onerous school
property tax, but by dramatically and boldly changing the way we fund public
education in Pennsylvania offers the real prospect of equity, efficiency, and
accountability in our education system.”
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