Senate policy committees hear testimony on property tax reform

The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® joined other organizations testifying on Senate Bill 76 yesterday in a unique bi-partisan policy committee meeting in Harrisburg.

Kim Skumanick, 2014 PAR president, voiced PAR’s support of Senate Bill 76 before the members of the Senate Majority and Democratic Policy committees. SB 76 proposes to eliminate school property taxes and replace the funding by raising the personal income tax from 3.07 to 4.34 percent and increasing and broadening the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent to include previously exempted items.

“Quite frankly, homeowners throughout the Commonwealth are simply tired of losing their homes due to school property taxes,” Skumanick said. “In less than two months, PAR’s website, RealReform76.com, has had nearly 14,000 visitors and has seen nearly 2,700 homeowners send emails to their senators asking them to support Senate Bill 76. Three hundred Pennsylvanians have shared their heart-wrenching stories about how these rising school property taxes have caused them to lose their homes or have shut them out of the home-buying process.”

Stories collected on RealReform76.com represent homeowners throughout Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Oil City, Kennett Square, State College, and Wilkes-Barre, to name a few.

Skumanick provided examples of excessive property taxes on properties for sale in Carbon, Dauphin, Montgomery and Monroe counties, where, in many instances, the monthly property tax escrow exceeds the principal and interest payment.

Jason Horwitz, an economist with the Anderson Economic Group (AEG), also provided testimony at the hearing. AEG conducted an economic impact study of SB 76 for PAR. During the hearing, several senators cited the impact study and its findings that show SB 76 offers a fiscally responsible plan for property tax reform.

“Senate Bill 76 would make Pennsylvania a more attractive state for economic development and homeownership,” Skumanick said. “I work with many companies and clients who are relocating to Pennsylvania. School property taxes in the Commonwealth are a deterrent for many homebuyers. Other proposed property tax reform legislation offers a patchwork approach to reform and there are no guarantees that property taxes will be eliminated at the local level.”

“The bi-partisan roundtable discussion focusing on Senate Bill 76 highlights the broad consensus that property taxes continue to cripple homeowners across the Commonwealth,” said Sen. David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill), who is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 76. “I remain committed, as do many of my colleagues, to eliminate this unfair and archaic tax as we continue to build momentum heading into the new year. The roundtable was crucial to hear why we need to move away from the current system.”