Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Pennsylvania Tax Relief Plan Rebuffed (Fast Eddy "enormously frustrated")
Phillyburbs.com/AP ^ | 5/26/2005 | PETER JACKSON

Posted on 05/26/2005 10:14:50 AM PDT by Born Conservative

HARRISBURG, Pa. - It seemed a political masterstroke: Legalize slot machines to lure back residents flocking to casinos in neighboring states, then use the revenue to give Pennsylvania's homeowners a tax cut of historic proportions.

But nearly a year after Gov. Ed Rendell got the Legislature to sign on, the tax-cut portion of the plan has gone awry.

To the governor's dismay, many Pennsylvania school boards are deciding they don't want to participate in the plan - which would provide an average $330 in tax relief per household, or $1 billion in all.

The first-term Democratic governor now feels snookered and says it was a mistake to give school boards the power to stop the tax cuts from being passed along to homeowners.

"It's enormously frustrating to me that the school boards haven't seen or recognized what we've tried to do here," he said Tuesday.

The governor made slot machine gambling and tax relief the centerpiece of his 2002 campaign, and his solid victory gave Democrats the power to finally get the deal through the GOP-controlled Legislature last July.

The idea behind the tax relief plan was not only to shrink homeowners' tax bills but also to reduce school dependence on property taxes. To qualify for a share of the gambling revenue, school boards that decide to participate must raise local income taxes and agree to seek voter approval for future property-tax increases that exceed inflation.

Just days before Monday's deadline, school boards across Pennsylvania were spurning the aid offer by a 3-1 margin - though a majority of homeowners across the state have indicated they want the cuts. Only about half of the 501 boards had taken formal action.

Critics of the plan say it hamstrings the boards by giving local voters the power, through referendums, to block property-tax increases.

"Basically, this does nothing beneficial for the school district," said Ronald A. Weaner, president of the school board in Gettysburg, which has opted out of the tax relief.

School boards say they also are reluctant to sign on now because no slot parlors are licensed yet and the 14 authorized under the new gambling law are not expected to be generating the projected hundreds of millions in revenue until 2007. What's more, they question whether the state's cut will reach $1 billion.

The law that legalized slots also may be in trouble. The state Supreme Court could rule any day on a lawsuit filed by gambling foes and good-government advocates alleging that the process legislators used to pass the law violated the state constitution.

"There's a sense of a lot of uncertainty among our members," said Tom J. Gentzel, executive director of the state school boards group. "They're making essentially an irrevocable decision."

The stakes are huge for Rendell, who is expected to seek another four-year term next year, said Mike Young, a pollster and political researcher in Hershey.

The Legislature reconvenes June 6, and several lawmakers have introduced bills to make participation mandatory or at least to give local voters a chance to override school boards.

Rendell has used the pending bills to prod boards into signing up. He has warned that limits on their taxation authority may be forced on them - with even stricter rules than those provided under the current law.

House Majority Leader Sam Smith, a Republican, sees no majority support for any kind of retaliation against the school boards, his spokesman said.

"We think we need to wait until after the deadline and see who is in and who is out and find out why," said the spokesman, Stephen Miskin. If action is taken, "whatever it is, it should not be out of a sense of retribution."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: act72; fasteddie; fasteddy; rendell; taxes
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021 next last

1 posted on 05/26/2005 10:14:50 AM PDT by Born Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative

"Critics of the plan say it hamstrings the boards by giving local voters the power, through referendums, to block property-tax increases."

Hmmm......can't have those pesky taxpayers have any control over how much we decide needs to be confiscated on a year to year basis. Next thing you know they might think that since they are footing the bill they might be entitle to influence things like our curriculum.


2 posted on 05/26/2005 10:18:54 AM PDT by MarcusTulliusCicero
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative

The Governor should have enough political acumen to know that school boards never get enough. You simply cant give a school board all they want, they just keep wanting more for doing less.


3 posted on 05/26/2005 10:19:02 AM PDT by sgtbono2002
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative

Well, as much as I dislike Rendell, the casino legalization was a good idea.


4 posted on 05/26/2005 10:19:37 AM PDT by kx9088
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative
The first-term Democratic governor now feels snookered and says it was a mistake to give school boards the power to stop the tax cuts from being passed along to homeowners.

Seesh, there are TEN MILLION EXAMPLES of this happening over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and ............

See my tagline.

5 posted on 05/26/2005 10:19:50 AM PDT by Balding_Eagle (God has blessed Republicans with really stupid enemies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative

Somehow I just can't picture any Democrat supporting any legislation that produces tax relief...Rendell must be ill.

-Regards, T.


6 posted on 05/26/2005 10:20:20 AM PDT by T Lady (G.W. Bush to Kerry & the MSM: "I've come to settle the Family Business.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: T Lady

Well, technically it isn't. The property tax would be reduced but participating school boards would be required to institute local income taxes in addition to the 6% state income tax (7% in Philly and Pittsburg to pay for the blackmail stadiums). It's just typical smoke and mirrors of just taking the same level of money out of different pockets. And of course, the teachers unions must be just salivating at this. As soon as it goes into effect they are going to want a cut of the pie. You'll hear about the casino's obscene profits versus the poor pittance of teacher salaries (in my area they easily hit 50-60,000 per year). And of course, the politicians get to broker the sweetheart deals deciding who is allowed to open the actual casinos....and who gets appointed to the regulatory committees to determine whether they meet license requirements and get to stay in business.


7 posted on 05/26/2005 10:25:58 AM PDT by MarcusTulliusCicero
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: MarcusTulliusCicero

Ah ha! I just knew there was some sort of catch to it.

Thanks for clearing the smoke.

-Regards, T.


8 posted on 05/26/2005 10:30:59 AM PDT by T Lady (G.W. Bush to Kerry & the MSM: "I've come to settle the Family Business.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative
The idea behind the tax relief plan was not only to shrink homeowners' tax bills but also to reduce school dependence on property taxes. To qualify for a share of the gambling revenue, school boards that decide to participate must raise local income taxes and agree to seek voter approval for future property-tax increases that exceed inflation.

Pennsylvania, with a Philly governor, is the only place in the Union where you can say "We have to raise taxes in order to cut them" with a straight face and be taken seriously...

9 posted on 05/26/2005 11:14:24 AM PDT by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - They want to die for Islam, and we want to kill them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2banana

Just another "Fast Eddy Bait and Switch".


10 posted on 05/26/2005 11:15:40 AM PDT by Born Conservative ("If not us, who? And if not now, when? - Ronald Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: 2banana
Pennsylvania, with a Philly governor, is the only place in the Union where you can say "We have to raise taxes in order to cut them" with a straight face and be taken seriously...

Oh, you can be sure that this was to work thusly. The property tax relief comes in the form of a rebate check, signed by the governor, in late October. Mere days before the election. Oh boy, look at this big money the governor sent me! Better vote for him!

This is how it works in New Jersey's Homestead Rebate program.

11 posted on 05/26/2005 11:58:55 AM PDT by pepsi_junkie (Often wrong, but never in doubt!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: 2banana

You forgot New Jersey.


12 posted on 05/26/2005 12:17:59 PM PDT by dyed_in_the_wool ("Man's character is his destiny" - Heracleitus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative; All
The original plan was to ELIMINATE property taxes.

Then after fast eddy was put in power, it was property tax reduction not elimination. They figured that they have to fund the schools somehow, so property taxes had to stay in place.

Fast eddy and the taxocrats were hot to get slot machines in the comunistwealth so, to get him out of an election promise and get gambling in the state, acts 71 and 72 were born. The acts have NOTHING to do with tax relief. It is a so called "reduction of inflation on future taxes". They are based on PROJECTED earnings from slot machines that are not in place yet. The libs are waving money in the faces of property owners and looking for them to bite and give support to the acts.

It is all smoke and mirrors. There are no hard numbers to work with, so how in the hell can they give school districts the figures they need to project budgets that balance out for the next two fiscal years?!!?

Fast eddy has FAILED! The school districts are not buying into the lie of acts 71 and 72. Property owners though, only see the money that the state and the libs are waving around.

If you live in Pennsylvania, do not be fooled! This is only a scam to get gambling into the state and to show voters in November that he coming though on a campaign promise.

LIES LIES LIES!
13 posted on 05/26/2005 12:23:13 PM PDT by WakeUpAndVote (Hey, Kool Aid!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: WakeUpAndVote

What school district are you in? My district, Northampton, voted against it.


14 posted on 05/26/2005 1:11:12 PM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: WakeUpAndVote

He's also a big proponent of taking money from wealthier districts and moving it to sinkholes like the Philadelphia school system. It would be easy to reduce Philly school taxes - just fire 90% of the administrators and you'd probably halve the tax burden!


15 posted on 05/26/2005 1:18:43 PM PDT by MarcusTulliusCicero
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Dr. Scarpetta

Northeastern, York County.


16 posted on 05/26/2005 2:40:28 PM PDT by WakeUpAndVote (Hey, Kool Aid!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: MarcusTulliusCicero; T Lady
Well, technically it isn't. The property tax would be reduced but participating school boards would be required to institute local income taxes in addition to the 6% state income tax...

Not sure who your accountant is, but the PA personal income tax is 3.07% for 2005. Your point is valid, otherwise.

One thing a number of people overlook is that a large part of this measure is an attempt to transfer revenues collected locally (like the property tax) to revenues collected by the state. This amounts to a sneaky way of putting extra cash in the coffers of the Philadelphia schools, which are bankrupt.

17 posted on 05/26/2005 3:38:33 PM PDT by FredZarguna (Vilings Stuned my Beeber: Or, How I Learned to Live with Embarrassing NoSpellCheck Titles.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: FredZarguna

'This amounts to a sneaky way of putting extra cash in the coffers of the Philadelphia schools, which are bankrupt.'


...That sounds just like the pension fund debacle we're dealing with out here in the city of San Diego.

-Regards, T.


18 posted on 05/26/2005 4:33:13 PM PDT by T Lady (G.W. Bush to Kerry & the MSM: "I've come to settle the Family Business.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: MarcusTulliusCicero

One minor correction: it's the sales tax that is 6% statewide and 7% in Philly and Pittsburgh.

Our Republican legislature bowed to the governor and gave him an increase in the state income tax from 2.8 to 3.07% or something close to that. At least it's a flat tax.

If your teachers are only making $50-60K, they're paupers compared to teachers in some of the wealthy school districts in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, who are easily pulling down $80-90K and higher.


19 posted on 05/27/2005 6:58:36 AM PDT by freedomcrusader (Proudly wearing the politically incorrect label "crusader" since 1/29/2001)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Born Conservative
I live in NEPA. They only way we as property owners can prevent school boards from raising taxes via referendum. I'm tired of three people on a school board being in my back pocket. Using my kids as ransom to fund bloated teacher retirement plans is just plain wrong!



My local school board just seized land via eminent domain. Also, one of the teachers is pretty famous here. She was on Unsolved Mysteries for being sent human excrement in envelopes. Turns out she was the one doing it. She still works here! They are completely out of control.

I also disagree with pimping our kids at book sales and other fund raisers. Where exactly does that money go? That's another can of worms.

v/r
20 posted on 05/27/2005 7:12:04 AM PDT by PJammers (I can't help it... It's my idiom!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson