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Eliminating property taxes will only help rich

By James Sloan 5 min read

We have gridlock at its finest with a Democrat governor and a Republican-controlled Legislature. The Legislature wants to make Pennsylvania a tax-free state for business. On the other side, the governor wants business to pay their fair share. Everyone knows where this will end. The working class will pay for everything.

The Republican-controlled Legislature cloaks it as a “bipartisan budget,” which incidentally does not balance the budge. It has proposed and endorsed the elimination of school property taxes, with a proposed provision that will make it unlawful to ever again impose property taxes in the state.

I am all for reducing taxes and in some cases, eliminating certain taxes. I also believe everyone should pay their fair share. We need taxes to fund our highway infrastructure, schools, law enforcement, veterans services, senior services, child protection service, health care services, mental health programs, parks, woodlands and our environment. If our state, our cities, our townships can no longer afford to fund the agencies that provide these services, the services will go away along with the jobs they support.

The real threat to our society comes when our towns and cities go bankrupt. How will Uniontown be able to support a police force or a fire department? Do you think big business will step up and pay the wages of first responders?

Look around! There are few residential properties in Uniontown. The majority of housing is rental property. Downtown business property will no longer need to pay taxes. Who will pay for these needed, often life-saving services?

Will the one percent we send to Scottdale each pay day become three percent?

Will the 3.07 percent you send to Harrisburg go up to 6 percent?

Will your occupational privilege tax go up to $100 a year?

Will the fees you pay for hunting, fishing and auto inspections go up?

Will you pay taxes on clothes and food?

Will you pay taxes on your medical necessities?

Will taxes you pay on your phone, electricity, water bill go up?

How about the residency tax that has been floating around?

The answer to all those questions is a loud “you betcha.”

Whose taxes are going to go down when property taxes are eliminated? Wal-Mart, big oil, gas drillers, rental property landlords, mall owners. The money not collected on property taxes will have to be made up somehow.

Who will pay the bill when it comes due? If you answered the middle-class wage earner, you got it right. It is amazing what people will vote for. I am personally still waiting on that trickledown theory to start working.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, with a Republican majority legislature, put in place all these Republican theories and gimmicks. Now, Kansas is collapsing under the weight of debt. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, with a Republican controlled legislature, promised a billion dollar surplus when he put the Republican theory and gimmicks in place. Today, Wisconsin has a $2.5 billion deficit.

Here in Pennsylvania under Corbett and a Republican-controlled legislature, we have seen a credit downgrade five times in the last three years, costing Pennsylvania taxpayers an extra $170 million annually on our debt. Now, the Republican Party wants to let out-of-state corporate property owners and out-of-state slumlords get by without putting a dime back into the state.

The Republican Party wants to allow gas and oil drillers to walk away without paying taxes or an extraction fee. Big party donors and special interests want to eliminate good- paying jobs at our state stores and give the profits to big business that will pay the workers minimum wage.

Where does it stop? How long can the people of Pennsylvania keep shoveling their hard-earned wages to the top?

Being retired on a fixed income, I would love to see my personal residence property taxes reduced or eliminated, but I don’t want my taxes on necessities increased. I want the corporations and those that can afford it like gas and oil drillers, out-of-state rental property holders and big box stores pay their fair share. If our state legislators win this fight with the governor, do you believe big donors and special interests will lower prices or lower rent or give their employees a raise?

I don’t believe they will do anything except laugh all the way to their bank.

We were all told to be skeptical of something that is too good to be true and this budget gimmick needs a lot of questions answered. What will I pay to keep government running? I am sure it will be a lot more than what I pay today. I am fortunate enough to have been in my home long enough to have no mortgage. Those still paying for their homes today may get property tax relief today, but when the new taxes/fees start, they may have to worry about keeping enough of their paycheck to feed their kids.

James Sloan is a resident of Hopwood

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