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House Democrats make property taxes a priority

 

This time of year, Pennsylvania homeowners are opening their mailboxes to find their second -- usually the higher -- property tax bill of 2008. There is some good news starting this year, though. The second bill is a little less painful thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars in relief funded by the state's gaming facilities.
 

The even better news is that only HALF of the slot facilities are open, so those cuts are going to get deeper as time goes on. While that relief grows, the House Democrats continue to work toward eliminating the property tax burden on homeowners.
 

On July 3 the House Finance Committee voted for Chairman David Levdansky's House Bill 1600 that would freeze property tax millage rates at 2009 rates and then require lawmakers to come up with a workable plan to totally eliminate the tax by 2010.
 

The House also in January unanimously passed a constitutional amendment (H.B. 1947) that would allow for the elimination of school property taxes on primary homes and farms. But the Senate has failed to act on it.
 

You can ask the Senate to take action on the constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes by visiting our action center.

 

   

To read Gov. Ed Rendell's weekly newsletter, click this link:
http://www.virtualtours.state.pa.us/