HARRISBURG, PA – The House Finance Committee today wrangled with a controversial idea — eliminating school property taxes and replacing the money with higher state personal income taxes and higher state sales taxes.
Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks, said property taxes on residential and commercial buildings are a major burden for many owners, especially senior citizens on fixed incomes.
“Even when the mortgage on a house is paid off, the owner still has to ‘rent’ it from the government by paying school property taxes, and that isn’t fair,” he said. Some owners have lost their homes when they were unable to pay rising property taxes, he added.
This is the best idea for property tax reform!
My husband and I do not have any children and since we are homeowners,we are REQUIRED to pay school tax.I call that Taxation without Representation.I’ve said that if a homeowner does not have kids in school,they should not be required to pay school taxes.What about the people WITH kids in school that rent?They don’t really pay school taxes.
I encourage everyone to push for this tax reform.Most likely,my income tax and sale tax will be MUCH lower than what I pay in school taxes.