Because of the hard work and groundswell of support from Berks County residents and Pennsylvanians, state Senator Judy Schwank said Nov. 24 she is disappointed with the Senate’s defeat of a bill that would have eliminated the regressive property tax, but she said she will fight on to change how the commonwealth pays for public education.
“One no vote does not mean the issue is dead forever,” Sen. Schwank said. “I’m pledged to resolving the unfair burden that school property taxes place on property owners.”
“Let’s find the objections to property tax reform and work to fine tune the plan and educate others on its benefits,” Sen. Schwank continued. “Our seniors deserve our continued focus. Our schools must have a better and more reliable source of public investment. Many of us understand that this is a complicated issue. It lacks uniform application across the commonwealth. It looks to replace one large source of revenue with others. But because we were so close to getting this done in the Senate, it means we are just that close to finding the ultimate solution.”
An amendment that mirrored Senate Bill 76 was defeated by the Senate Monday evening, 25-24.
Additionally, Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks) released the following statement regarding the Nov. 23 Senate vote on the Property Tax Independence Act, which failed after a tie vote on 24-24 with a tie breaking vote by the Lieutenant Governor.
“While this legislation did not gain enough votes to pass the Senate today, the problem of ever-rising school property taxes does not go away,” Sen. Argall said. “Each session, we continue to pick up support in all parts of the state, and tonight’s vote in the Senate shows the importance of this issue.”
Sen. Argall continued.”Earlier today, the governor said that school property tax elimination is a ‘distraction,'” he said. “I don’t think the people who are losing their homes due to school property taxes would call this issue a ‘distraction.’ I’ve got news for the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor who voted against us: we are not giving up.”
The Property Tax Independence Act was drafted by the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations with more than 80 member groups.