May. 11, 2015
HARRISBURG – Rep. James R. Santora (R-Delaware) today said that he supports a proposal, sponsored by Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York), which would provide Pennsylvania residents with much needed property tax relief. The House is expected to vote on the proposal this week.
“One of Delaware County residents’ biggest concerns, and my top priority as a state representative, is reforming property taxes while maintaining a quality education system,” Santora said. “Rising property taxes are hurting homeowners – especially seniors and working families – across the Commonwealth. It’s time to answer residents’ repeated calls for relief and pass the Saylor property tax reduction plan.”
Santora was part of a working group of Republican House members who had been meeting to construct a plan that would achieve four main objectives: provide billions of dollars in property tax relief; offer a dollar-for-dollar reduction, meaning every new dollar raised in revenue would go toward property tax relief; restrict school districts’ abilities to raise property taxes in the future; and provide relief to all property taxpayers.
Those meetings produced legislation, sponsored by Saylor, that would accomplish those goals, Santora said. Specifically, the legislation includes a shift away from property taxes by changing the state’s Personal Income Tax (PIT) to 3.7 percent and the state’s Sales and Use Tax (SUT) to 7 percent, without expanding it to cover items that are currently sales tax exempt. The PIT funds generated from this shift would be used to drive down school district millage rates immediately. The SUT funds generated from the tax shift would directly go to homeowners through homestead and farmstead exclusions. Every new dollar generated from these shifts would fund property tax reductions.
The legislation is expected to generate nearly $5 billion in property tax relief and includes a $125 million expansion of the Property Tax and Rent Rebate Program, resulting in approximately a 40 percent to 60 percent cut in school property taxes for most homeowners. The legislation also includes a mechanism to suppress school districts’ abilities to raise property taxes in the future, thus ensuring that the reductions are permanent.
Under the Saylor plan, the average residential property owner in the 163rd District would see the following property tax reductions:
• Haverford Township School District – 37 percent reduction.
• Upper Darby School District – 47 percent reduction.
• William Penn School District – 53 percent reduction.
“It is wrong for people, especially seniors, to lose their homes because they cannot afford a tax,” Santora said. “Yet, this has been the sad reality for many Pennsylvania residents and seniors unable to keep up with rising property taxes. This proposal would provide homeowners with immediate, meaningful relief and help to control costs from rising in the future. I am hopeful that the House will pass this positive property tax reform.”
For legislative updates, visit
RepSantora.com.
Representative James R. Santora
163rd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jonathan Anzur
717.260.6610
janzur@pahousegop.com