It’s a start
What a difference a month makes in Harrisburg.
Last month, Gov. Wolf was widely reviled by Republican lawmakers for his plan to increase sales and income taxes in exchange for a reduction in property taxes.
“I cannot support a budget that takes money out of the hands of hard-working Pennsylvanians and sends billions more to Harrisburg,” said state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township.
Well, guess what? On Tuesday, state Rep. Stan Saylor introduced a plan to increase the sales and income taxes in exchange for a reduction in property taxes. Saylor’s plan has the support of dozens of House Republicans, including the chamber’s majority leader, Dave Reed (R-Indiana). The House Finance Committee is expected to vote on the measure next week, and if it passes there, it could come up for a vote before the full House later this month or early next month.
While there are similarities between Saylor’s bill and Gov. Wolf’s proposal, there are also huge differences. Both would raise the income tax from 3.07 percent to 3.7 percent. Saylor’s bill would raise the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent, while Wolf’s plan would raise it to only 6.6 percent. However, Wolf wants to add a number of items exempt from the tax while Saylor would keep all exemptions intact.
The biggest different, though, is that Saylor’s bill doesn’t call for a massive increase in education funding as Wolf’s plan does. Saylor said that’s a separate issue and should be dealt with by the House Education Committee.
Wolf’s proposal also would target relief for poorer school districts in the state, while Saylor’s plan would provide equal relief for all school districts across the state. “It’s pitting the cities versus the rest of the state under Wolf’s plan,” said Saylor. “Mine’s fair to everybody.”
Saylor said a district-by-district breakdown of how the plan would impact each school district’s property tax rates will be made available soon. Wolf has already released such a breakdown. Thus, local residents should be able to compare the two plans and see which one will be favorable to them. It’s doubtful that the high subsidies proposed for Fayette County’s school districts under the Wolf plan will be matched by the Saylor proposal.
Of course, it’s possible that Saylor’s proposal might be shut down the way dozens of similar plans to reduce property taxes have been rejected over the years. Republicans are already complaining that the measure doesn’t call for the elimination of property taxes, while Democrats contend it doesn’t do enough to help low-income school districts.
But there does seem to be more support overall for reducing property taxes in Harrisburg than ever before. Republicans in the House deserve some kudos along with Gov. Wolf for recognizing the problem, even if they have different ways of solving it.
The hope is that some type of property tax relief can be passed by the Finance Committee, the House of Representatives and the state Senate. Wolf and Republican lawmakers can then begin some serious negotiations over a final measure.
With some compromises on all sides, there’s no reason a deal can’t be reached that reduces property taxes to some degree and increases funding for low-income districts.
As we’ve said before, reducing property taxes is imperative for the future of Fayette County. We simply can’t raise enough money from the property tax to properly fund the education of our students. Across the commonwealth there are many school districts in the same situation as ours. It’s clear that the funding system for education in Pennsylvania needs to be fundamentally changed. The time for talking is past. It’s time for action.