Where is your source for the $12.5 billion dollar property tax revenue figure? I was told $10 billion, and that the total raised by this bill would be $9.6 (not 9.1) with the remaining $400 million taken up by gaming taxes.

Representative Madeleine Dean's figures are incorrect. So you are absolutely right Stephen. The Finance Committee received an estimate from the Department of Revenue indicating that the revenues raised through the proposed taxation system under PA House Bill 1776 would be only $900 million less than the present system of school property taxation. $900 million dollars is nothing. There should have been no reason for the Finance Committee to table Pa House Bill 1776.

I guess she is confused. You know doing two (2) jobs at the same time may be overwhelming. When are you going to resign as a Commisioner???!!! While keeping the two positions until you are reelected as a State Rep (if that happens) is politcally a good move for you and the Dems, it is morally dishonest!!! You have no credibility!!!!

After debt service is paid school tax is gone. It would cut most peoples school tax about 90%. I for one could use that extra money. Let everyone pay. And stop schools from stealing about 10,000 homes per year. School tax is the highest of the ones mentioned. This would bring jobs and be an economic boom in PA.

It didn't take Rep. Dean very long in office to fall into the Harrisburg spin machine.

Regarding her comment, "which would partially eliminate school property taxes," it should more accurately be, "would eliminate, on average, 90% of school property taxes until retained debt is satisfied." Note the negative spin from her.

on The HB 1776 shortfall was cited by Finance Chairwoman Phyllis Mundy. During both Finance Committee hearings and again at the voting meeting Representative Mundy made this claim. Even though Representative Cox patiently explained it to her on two occasions she was too dense to grasp the concept of the retained debt provision and insisted that the plan had a huge financial shortfall.

Representative Benninghoff, while agreeing that the numbers needed to be further analyzed, DID NOT agree with the $3.5 billion shortfall stated by Representative Mundy.

I know to a certainty that the numbers DO work. I’ve seen them, I helped compile them, and I know all of the data sources. This is simply another attempt by slimy politicians to kill worthy legislation by misstating facts so they can satisfy the demands of their special interest campaign contributors.

The Harrisburg spin machine never stops.

Wake up call message to all PA State Legislators: We the People of PA want school property taxes elimanated. It is no longer acceptable for you to just vote no and wash your hands of the matter. If you have problems with HB 1776, why do you not offer an ammendment to fix its alleged deficencies? We need school property tax reform now. The status quo is not acceptable. Wake up! Get something done.

Representatives Benninghoff, Mundy and Dean must be misinformed as is the Department of Revenue. Let's look to the bloggers here for the actual figures, since they and they alone seem to know.

After all, $900 million, $3.4 billion is nothing.

Pointy hats, tall stools and a corner of a room needed here.

I didn't see any link to the Department of Revenue report, Feodor. Since I don't believe in forming opinions based on false appeals to authority, I asked for a citation. Is that so bad? Are our elected representatives in an ivory tower, not to be questioned? I don't believe in straw man arguments, so your third sentence is also invalid. And I also don't believe in ad hominems, so I feel that your closing comment is out of line.

Has everyone posting comments here taken the time to read the 170 page Bill? Maybe if they did they might agree with Representative Dean that we should pause and review all the details. With 170 pages comes the opportunity to pick our pockets step by step. Distract us with no property tax but raise the income tax by 1%, raise the sales tax by another .96%, allow the local school boards or townships to raise income taxes ....bottom line in the end we will all pay more. One more part of the bill taxing FOOD. Lots of smoke and mirrors here. I say take our time to figure it out and make the right changes. Do not rush since we will most likely pay more not less.

I'm still not sold on the bill-- I just want some proof of the numbers. I already read most of it, and I know that a few items previously exempted from sales tax will not be. I also read that the schools can only enable or modify an income tax via referendum. So it's not "bottom line in the end we will all pay more", especially when those with incomes under $10,000 are entirely exempted. I would like to see a cap on the percentage rate like we have on the current local income tax; I don't see that. Nearly everyone is going to have skin in the game, so it won't be like how half of the citizens of the USA don't pay any federal income tax, so they're hypocritically clamoring for everyone else to pay their "fair share".

DO NOT RUSH! We have been told for over 20 years Property Tax reform was coming. In my math that is about 200,000 homeowners who have lost the home they have worked all their life for. Stop the madness.

I wanted to see what the top Republican, Benninghoff had to say,who also voted to stop the bill from going forward -looks like guys who wrote it didn't do their homework.

Sir, I understand the need-I have worked on predecessors of this bills over the past ten years-I made an error in scheduling HB1776 for a vote before it was ready. The author needed to prepare an amendment to correct several issues raised in the previous hearings we had in the bill. Additionally many committee members and I were concerned about both the bills revenue generating shortfalls...and the fact that after year one of passage there is no funding mechanism to drive the new established funding out to our 501schools. Thank youyour input. You have my commitment to continue to improve on proposals like HB1776 and others to address increasing schoolpropertytaxes. Most Sincerely Kerry Benninghoff-HouseFinanceChairman.

Assessment hearing was a real joy. What part of; over the last 4 years my home has went down in value. Over the last four years wonderful Coatesville School District has continued to raise my taxes even though my wife hasn't had a raise. If you would like me to keep my home and continue to pay taxes than LOWER THEM!!!!! $6,400/yr is border line criminal! And to all the state reps who tabled the school elimination tax bill, shame on you! You won't be happy until everyone held hostage by there school districts loses there home!

Rep. Dean isn't bothering to think "outside the box" - there are ways to generate revenue while lowering and/or eliminating the highly unpopular property tax. For instance, raise the sales tax from 6 to 7%. Or, install a luxury tax on high end items that John and Jane Middleclass are unlikely to purchase. Another avenue to investigate is the PA Income Tax which is based on the more you earn, the more you pay. Isn't that just a little bit more in line with what people can economically pay and, techicnally a little more fair? One simply does not have a two hour hearing and call it a day. Again, I say to our lawmakers, think OUTSIDE the box! <Linda Spreeman, King of Prussia>

Linda, a sales tax increase is in this bill. Also, our income tax is a flat tax, which in the real world is inherently fair. If you earn more, you pay more in proportion. If you're suggesting a progressive tax, well, we see how "fair" that turns out when we do our federal taxes. And it will be harder for us to really know whether the lost revenue is covered, because a progressive tax welcomes both avoidance and evasion. As for luxury taxes, on the federal level they almost killed the American yacht builders. You just penalize an industry while the wealthy take their money elsewhere.

Linda Spreeman. You are courageous, honest, and intelligent. Sadly the same can not be said of most politicians in Harrisburg who are gutless, corrupt, stupid, and incapable of seeing 5, 10 or even 15 years down the road.

Everyone working in the private sector who owns a home readily knows that they are being robbed by their school taxing authority because the school boards are controlled by present and past members of the PSEA, alias, the Teacher's Union. And as we all know school taxes are rising faster than our salaries which for the most part have been frozen or cut. What we want is for the state to create a tax burden that is fair and equitably born by all. What we want is for the state to reign in out of control school spending.

In my own school district in Hempfield, teachers are retiring at $87,000 and are making $71,000 a year in pensions. For the next 4 years, teachers will be getting annual 3.725 percent pay increases. They are receiving free further college education at the expense of district residents. They are receiving dental, health, and major medical all for just $30 a month. We bow down to the teachers and the government employees. We all know that you are making more than us.

rep jim cox hb1776 was a good start to solve a bad problem to table it shows politicians without guts for a change meanwhile us homeowners are over our heads paying these raising taxes we must remember these people upon election time we need some help and now

Currently the Hempfield School District in Lancaster Pa has 10 homes that need to be sold through a sheriff sale. It is terrible that people in my area are losing their homes because they can no longer pay their school taxes. Meanwhile superintendent Brenda Becker who is making $184,000 for the upcoming year and who has a future pension of $161,000 pays only $3,200 in school taxes.