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Lawmakers poised to kill another tax reform plan
Wednesday, November 14, 2001 By John M.R. Bull, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Correspondent
HARRISBURG -- The Legislature appears poised to take another unsuccessful stab at property tax reform.
Killing such measures has been an almost annual exercise for almost three decades.
The newest bill would increase the state's personal income tax by roughly 60 percent -- from 2.8 percent to 4.6 percent -- and give much of the $5 billion raised to school districts, allowing dollar-for-dollar reductions in school property taxes.
The bill also would change the way the state distributes its public education tax dollars, basing each district's share on what the best-performing schools spend per student. Hence, it is called the "Successful School Budget" plan.
It would cap school property tax rates at 20 mills, and require any increase over that -- or any annual increase of more than 1.5 percent in school district spending -- to be subject to voter approval.
The bill's prospects appear bleak.
A nearly identical proposal three years ago by state Rep. Nick Colafella, D-Aliquippa, died, as have other attempts at property tax reform over the past 30 years.
The only exception was a bill called Act 50, passed in 1998. It was intended to allow local districts to substitute income taxes for property taxes, but only three of the state's 501 districts have opted for such a change.
In 1989, property tax reform was put before voters in a statewide referendum and was overwhelmingly defeated.
The sponsor of the latest bill, Rep. Nicholas Micozzie, R-Delaware, acknowledges that he has picked up very few co-sponsors, despite working on the bill for two years and circulating it for months in an attempt to garner support.
Majority Leader John Perzel of Philadelphia, who leads the GOP-controlled House, is adamantly against the bill. He "firmly believes his constituents do not want their already too-high income taxes increased," said his spokesman, Steve Drachler.
Another compelling problem is that next year is an election year for the entire House and half of the Senate. Lawmakers can visualize attack ads condemning their support for a "$5 billion tax increase."
"There's not a lot of courage around here," Micozzie said.
The bill is supported by a variety of school reform groups, including the PTA, League of Women Voters, Good Schools Pennsylvania and AARP.
"We are way overdue for a completely new system," Micozzie said. "It's the right thing to do. We just have to bite the bullet."
Micozzie said he hopes that "pressure" and "public sentiment," especially from counties where property taxes have increased due to reassessments, will light the fire that gets his bill passed.
He said all property owners would come out winners. The losers would be people who earn more than $50,000 a year, especially those who rent.
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