Putting the Cards on the Table (Gambling on Property Taxes)

Still no sign of property tax relief for Pennsylvania citizens and the reason is that our legislators have done very little to educate the public on the facts. However, if we are going to revitalize our inner city neighborhoods and keep our low and fixed income residents in their homes we’ve got to take action NOW!

Based on the assumption that SSI recipients receive roughly $595 a month, SS recipients around $900 and a full-time worker making $5.15/hr clears roughly $771 per month and finally property taxes on a home appraised at $100,000 in the City of York were roughly $4,000 a year in 2005

Did you know:

• The percentage of income paid for property taxes:


• SSI recipients pay roughly 56% of their income


• SS recipients pay roughly 37% of their income


• Minimum wage workers pay roughly 43% of their income
  an individual earning $50,000 a year pays roughly 8% of their income

• Raising the PIT from 3.07 to 6.34% would:


• eliminate school property taxes


• increase the yearly income of a home owning:


• SSI or SS recipient’s by $2500


• Minimum wage workers by roughly $2163


• an individual earning $50,000 a year by roughly $865


• only increase the taxes on an investment yielding $10,000 a year by a mere $327 a year

• Raising the existing sales tax rate from 6% to 13.70% would:


• eliminate school property taxes


• reduce the impact of the tax savings based on the PIT plan by roughly $400 a year by decreasing the buying power of consumers


• impact businesses whose products are taxable by selling less products and possibly resulting in subsequent layoffs

• Using gaming revenues:


• Pennsylvanians would have to spend $30,000,000,000 with a 33% gaming industry pre-expense tax to eliminate school property taxes


• Pennsylvanian’s would have to reduce their spending to other PA businesses by the same $30,000,000,000; causing layoffs and bankruptcies of many small businesses


• will leave many low income families in ruins because of “trying to hit the big one” in the gaming establishments and ultimately lead to higher dependence on Federal, State and Local social services

In order for any of these plans to succeed our legislators must force landlords to pass these savings onto renters as well.