A New Property Tax Revolt

A New Property Tax Revolt: It has been half a century since Howard Jarvis launched the first property tax revolt with Prop 13 in California. Since then, forty-six states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of property tax limitation. Some of these measures have proven to be effective, but others are poorly designed and ineffective.

Guest Column: What is wrong with property taxes?

The right to personal property sets the United States apart from other nations. Outside the United States, the rights to property have long been subject to the realm of kings and queens — a feudal society of sorts.

There is a tremendous anger surfacing due to the relentless loss of property and our government’s explosive spending binge. Ravenous government spending mortgages ourselves, our children, and our property to an unrelenting assault by a government which is out of control.

The major negatives with property taxes relates to these very issues:

• Property taxes are fixed expense with no regard to the person’s ability to pay.

• One’s property serves as collateral for potential unlimited government spending.

• Taxes on property value reduce the incentive to maintain property

• The regressive nature of the property tax makes home ownership that much more elusive for much of the population.

Taxes on property have been debated incessantly for decades. What started out as an “innocent” means of raising taxes has blossomed into a perceived unlimited source of funds by which government can make promises of future benefits to a select few to the detriment of the remainder of us. Property owners have the choice of either paying the taxes dictated for them by politicians or risk losing their property through foreclosure and tax sale.

Contrary to popular belief, the property tax system started in the United States dates at the time of the founding of our nation. At that time however, it is important to remember the historical context in that only the gifted few owned property. Only property owners at the time of the founding of our nation were permitted to vote.

The evolution of our republic has allowed the opportunity for owning property and of voting rights to expand to most of the population. As such, the antiquated notion of the property tax may negatively impact the very people who are now just beginning to enjoy the American dream evolving in the great experiment of the United States.

The negative impact of a property tax system is that your property serves as collateral for government promises. Ever increasing property taxes have allowed municipal governments and schools to make promises that they could not possibly keep if they did not have such a reservoir of potential funds at their disposal.

These “promises” have precipitated a record number of bankruptcy filings of municipalities since 2010. The settlement of these bankruptcies will most certainly raise the level of debate of property taxes to unparalleled heights. The outcome of this battle will most decidedly determine whether or not American citizens have the right to own property.

With the rapid rise in property taxes needed by most jurisdictions to cover their promises and with lower pay and higher unemployment of taxpayers throughout the nation, the property tax is now forcing millions of Americans to reassess where they live, how they live, and if they can ever retire let alone own their home.

The U. S. Constitution addresses and protects property rights in so many ways: Source: “The Constitution and Property Rights”

“The Founders were worried that Congress might use the tax system to loot property owners in some states for the advantage of other states. Accordingly, they required that direct taxes (mostly importantly property and income taxes) be apportioned among the states (Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 and Article I, Section 9, Clause 4).

They granted the federal courts jurisdiction over interstate land claims and interstate debts to limit the extent to which state courts could discriminate against the property rights of out-of-staters (III-2-1 and III-2-2).

They added the Full Faith and Credit Clause (IV-1) partly to require state courts to honor property records in other states.

The Founders gave Congress an unlimited power to dispose of public land (IV-3-2), but only limited power to acquire or hold land (I-8-17 and certain incidental powers). This was because they wanted most publicly-owned land to be transferred to the private sector.

They also inserted a number of other checks and balances, designed partly to protect minorities from unfair property confiscations.”

Today, threats to property, particularly your home, are at epic levels and the battle will shape the landscape of our nation forever.

The American dream of home ownership and the liberty inherent in property are at risk.

Ending property taxes will begin to restore the American dream to those most negatively affected by such an antiquated system as a property tax.

For those who are just getting involved, this article is the second in a series explaining the basis behind our property tax elimination bill. The other articles in this series can be found on our website at www.repfrankryan.com.

Frank Ryan, CPA, USMCR (Ret) represents the 101st District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is a retired Marine Reserve Colonel, a CPA and specializes in corporate restructuring. He has served on numerous boards of publicly traded and non-profit organizations. He can be reached at fryan1951@aol.com.

GUEST COLUMN: Time to eliminate property taxes in Pennsylvania

By Rep. Frank Ryan
Guest columnist

There have been discussions about eliminating property taxes for decades.

In November 2017, a constitutional amendment passed by substantial margin to allow for the elimination of property taxes. With that amendment, it would only be necessary for legislation to be enacted to rid the Commonwealth of this regressive tax.

The question then becomes what is the status of the bill to eliminate property taxes?

In December 2018, I circulated a co-sponsorship memo in the PA House for a bill which will eliminate property taxes 100% for all properties if enacted. The objective of the bill is simple — to eliminate all property taxes. The tricky part is the replacement tax.

That very simple statement will be the subject of eight detailed articles I intend to write explaining the issues in detail to solicit your feedback and to allow the best possible solution to come about as quickly as possible.

The eight articles will include:

1. Critical economic reasons for eliminating property taxes.

2. Problems with the existing property tax system.

3. Unfunded pension liabilities.

4. Funding formulas for school districts under current laws.

5. Property tax elimination and impact on senior citizens.

6. Property tax elimination and impact on working families.

7. Property tax elimination and impact on schools and teachers.

8. Proposed property tax elimination bill.

Eliminating the property tax is critical to the economic survival of the Commonwealth and our citizens!

In my 40+ years as a certified public accountant and expert in helping organizations avoid bankruptcy, I can think of no more complicated problem to the financial survival of the Commonwealth than eliminating property taxes.

The reason this is so complicated is because our current system of taxation and funding schools is so fundamentally flawed that even minor fixes to peripheral elements of the system may have significant unintended consequences.

For example, the funding formulas for the schools result in Palmyra Area School District receiving $1 Million less per year than it would receive under a newly enacted funding formula which will take almost 20 years to fully implement. This means that Palmyra School District must fund that shortfall from the state by either cutting spending and or with property tax increases.

The Independent Fiscal Office five year outlook provides an insight into Pennsylvania’s stagnant growth and substantial budget shortfalls over the next five years. When combined with declining population for citizens under age 60 and significantly increasing population for citizens over 65, the trends continue to be negative for the Commonwealth.

If we take decisive action now to reform our tax policies for working families, seniors, businesses, and school districts with the fundamental shift in the elimination of property taxes we can reverse these negative trends. I am extremely optimistic if we take the problem seriously.

Efforts in the past to eliminate property taxes have not been successful because of a whole bevy of reasons.

The primary reasons for the failure of prior efforts revolve around the following:

A. The proposed replacement taxes involve funds going to the Commonwealth rather than to local control.

B. The impact of property tax elimination on people who rent rather than own their homes.

C. The perceived lack of stability in school funding under the replacement formula.

D. The expansion of the sales tax base was a problematic for some powerful stakeholders.

E. The proposed replacement taxes were directed predominantly at working families.

The system that I am proposing will address these issues and provide for an orderly phase in so that the schools and the community are able to adapt to a new system with no major disruptions to the educational opportunities of our students.

I cannot emphasize enough how severe the problem is with property taxes. The funding formula itself which is a separate issue is equally problematic and leads to the difficulty in solving this problem. It is critical however that everyone understand that if we do not resolve this problem together the probability of surviving the next economic downturn is limited.

Our financial rescue plan that I proposed when I first got elected two years ago discusses all the efforts we need to turn around the finances in Pennsylvania. We are well on the way to enacting these bills and property tax elimination is a major component of it.

I look forward to your input and comments on the particles that we will be submitting and ask you to please get active in this and provide me the guidance that you feel needs to be included in any legislation. We cannot afford to make a mistake.

A copy of our financial rescue plan can be found at my website www.repfrankryan.com.

Frank Ryan, CPA, USMCR (Ret.) represents the 101st District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is a retired Marine Reserve Colonel, a CPA and specializes in corporate restructuring. He has served on numerous boards of publicly traded and non-profit organizations. He can be reached at FRYAN1951@aol.com

Rep. Rohrer: A Bad Bet for Pennsylvania

State Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks), who voted Wednesday against a measure approved by the House to legalize table games such as poker and blackjack at Pennsylvania casinos, issued the following statement explaining his opposition to the Democratic-led expansion of gambling:

"Five years ago, Governor Rendell sold the people of Pennsylvania a bill of goods when he signed the slots legislation into law," Rohrer said. "At the time, Rendell and the gambling lobby falsely promised the bill would create thousands of jobs, spur an economic boom and provide property tax relief. Today, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is higher, its economy is faltering and homeowners are still burdened with excessive property taxes. With this record of failure, the legalization of table games amounts to doubling down on a bad bet."

Gov. Ed Rendell threatened to lay off nearly 1,000 state workers if the table games bill was not approved by the General Assembly by the end of the week. Rendell falsely claimed the bill was necessary to fill a supposed $250 million hole in the state budget.

"If you could fill a $250 million hole by laying off 1,000 state workers, that would mean that each of them would have to be earning approximately $250,000," Rohrer noted. "Does the governor really have that many excessively paid staff working under him? I would note that of the 1,000 state workers the governor threatened to lay off, he only threatened one in the governor's office. By comparison, he threatened to lay off 112 people who work with the Pennsylvania State Police, 38 who serve our military veterans and 19 who work in the Department of Health."

Rohrer further argued that the $250 million in revenue the legalization of table games is expected to generate are just an estimate.

"We still have some casinos that aren't up and running five years after that bill was signed into law," Rohrer said. "Somehow, the governor blindly thinks these table games are going to be set up and raking in the money in the next five months before the fiscal year ends in June. That naive belief represents a detachment from reality."

Rohrer pointed out the faulty logic used by gambling proponents, who suggest the legalization of table games would generate new jobs.

"If a Pennsylvanian spends $20 at a blackjack table, he or she can't spend that money at the local diner," Rohrer said. "Sure, it might create a job in one area of the economy, but it will do so at the expense of a worker in another area. The blackjack dealer benefits at the expense of the waitress. Taking water from one end of a bathtub and dropping it in the other won't raise the overall water level. This law will merely benefit the well-connected gambling industry at the expense of other Pennsylvania workers."

Rohrer also chastised those who propagated the false belief that legalizing table game would somehow help homeowners struggling to pay their property taxes.

"Like slot machines before them, table games offer homeowners nothing but the false hope that their property tax burden will be reduced," Rohrer said. "The truth is, the governor is betting on table games to bring in more revenues to subsidize his spending habit. Make no mistake, legalized gambling has done little for homeowners, but it has been and will continue to be a boon for free-spending politicians in Harrisburg. Pennsylvanians are tired of these 'bait-and-switch' schemes where politicians promise them property tax relief but deliver something far different. The only way to truly deal with the property tax issue is by eliminating them. No tax should have the power to leave you homeless."

The bill now heads to the governor's desk for his signature.

"Whether you oppose legalized gambling based on economic or moral principles or because it fails to deliver on its overblown promises, today represents a step backward for Pennsylvania," Rohrer said. "The Commonwealth will take a further leap backward if and when the governor places his signature on this sham of a bill. Pennsylvanians deserve better than this."

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

The forgotten taxpayer

I received a flier over the weekend from four candidates running as a team for my local school board. I looked over the four-page flier and could not find a single reference to keeping property taxes from going up. Isn't that what we elect people to do on school boards?

School administrators have their own lobbying association in Harrisburg and typically do not live in the district so they don't care how high taxes go up each year. The teachers have the most powerful union in the state watching their back.

Who do the taxpayers have? Isn't the elected school board suppose to represent the interests of the beleaguered property owners who have seen their taxes go up 40 percent since Gov. Ed Rendell signed the casino gambling bill way back in 2004 with a promise that all Pennsylvania residents would see substantial property tax reduction?

If they're not looking out for the taxpayers of the district, what do the four candidates stand for?

According to their campaign literature, their platform consists of four items:

1) Responsive Budgeting (Translation: Rubber-stamp everything the administration wants to spend money on.)

2) Quality Education (Translation: Give the teachers' union everything it wants during contract negotiations.)

3) Improving the Quality of life for All Citizens -- Young and Old (Translation: Drive seniors out of the district with the highest tax rate in the county and prevent young people from being able to afford their first home by high taxes)

4) Preserving our Sense of Community (Translation: Fight any efforts to merge the smallest school district in the county with a neighboring district to save money, improve offerings for students and reduce property taxes).

I'm glad the four candidates dropped a flier in my mailbox to remind me which candidates I won't be voting for on Tuesday.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Chester County prepares residents for 2009 tax hike

Property taxes and the weather. Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it.

Chester County officials want to talk about property taxes.

The entire county is invited to attend a forum at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, in the commissioners' boardroom on the fifth floor of the courthouse North Wing on North High Street in West Chester.

"We need the opportunity to have a conversation with the taxpayers," Commissioners' Chairwoman Carol Aichele told the West Chester Daily Local News. "The bottom line is that we cannot run Chester County in the year 2009 for the same amount of money that we did in 2008."

Translation: Property taxes are going up for county residents in 2009.

The proposed $461.4 million budget introduced by county staff last month includes a 5 percent increase in property taxes, from the current millage of 3.804 to 4.018, says reporter Michael Rellehan.

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.

Details of the 2009 Chester County budget are available online at www.chesco.org

School taxes driving people out of homes

Two interesting articles on the continuing problem of school property taxes.

The Reading Eagle has a story about a couple that fought property tax increases for years by their local school board, but can no longer fight. The couple is selling their home because they can't afford to pay the property taxes.

TONY PHYRILLAS highlights excessive spending by school boards.

'Property Tax Madness'

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a big package on its Web site called "Property Tax Madness."

It's interesting stuff, but it's also the latest example of how the state's biggest newspaper is usually a couple of years late with the news.

Other newspapers have been harping on the need for property tax reform for years.

The gist of the Inky package is: "An Inquirer analysis of 500,000 tax records in Philadelphia and four suburban Pa. counties found wildly disparate tax rates that widen the economic divide between haves and have-nots."

You can check it out here.

And for the latest on the grassroots effort to get property tax reform passed in Pennsylvania, check out the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition Web site.

Rohrer: Abolish school property taxes now

A guest column today by state Rep. Sam Rohrer, who is leading the fight to eliminate school property taxes in Pennsylvania.

Abolish school property taxes now

The state's impending budget negotiations beg Gov. Ed Rendell and the legislature to remember the lessons learned from the credit crunch fallout: If you cannot afford it, do not expect someone else to pay for it.

Case in point: $6.2 billion dollars is a price that Pennsylvania taxpayers cannot afford to pay for the governor's leviathan 2008-2009 educational funding program. Even if state government agreed to give the governor a blank check to spend on education it would not fix the school funding crisis in Pennsylvania.

With the Boston Globe highlighting increased prices in every market over the past year (26 percent in milk prices, 40 percent in egg prices, and 300 percent in wheat prices), financially unstable school districts will no longer be able to force fiscally strapped homeowners to pay higher property taxes. This unconstitutional and oft-raised tax will lead to the inevitable foreclosure of countless more privately owned properties.

What we can afford and must address is comprehensive school finance reform. Again frivolously throwing more money at the school system will not provide the solution to a collapsing funding system.

In fact, school districts nationwide have been given access to unlimited funds with the goal of fixing problems-from underperformance to desegregation. Yet despite these "strategic investments," (a.k.a. increased taxes, increased spending and increased debt), these problems remain unresolved.

For example, a recent Cato Institute policy analysis revealed that Sausalito, California school district tax payers who "invested" $12,300 per pupil were rewarded with the lowest student test scores in the country.

Alarmingly all too similar, the Pennsylvania Legislature's Costing Out Report guesstimates that it will now cost $12,057 per pupil to bring statewide academic performance up to par with national standards.

Rather than relying on the mirage of expanded gaming revenue to avoid future astronomical property tax increases, Pennsylvania students and taxpayers deserve a fair and flexible solution leading to comprehensive educational funding reform.

Taxpayer-funded costing out study or not, the school property taxes remains one of the most unfair and completely immoral taxes since it is completely disconnected from the taxpayer's ability to pay.

However, by replacing our current "pay or you go" funding system with a "pay as you go" system, the School Property Tax Elimination Act (HB 1275) provides a broad-based, same-rate sales tax that allows Pennsylvania's economy to flourish as a 0 percent, School Property Tax FREE Zone, via a tax that is not only progressive but also allows us to remain economically competitive to our neighboring states.

While home values decrease, foreclosures continue to increase. As a result, many school districts are near financial distress because lowering property values are stressing revenue for already under-funded districts.

Again, under House Bill 1275, equality can be restored to each of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts by deriving funds from a voluntary, consumption-based tax based on the broadest public base-virtually anyone that purchases goods and services.
Districts will receive necessary funding, regardless of previous designation as "impoverished districts," through the state's Education Operating Fund to which all sales tax revenue is deposited. Additionally, local school boards will retain the decision-making power to allocate these funds without intervention from the state.

In an effort to make our public schools as efficient as possible, while providing a high-quality, properly-funded education, school districts will have the added advantage of implementing state-of-the-art, data-driven decision making (D3M) technology to accurately measure school spending and academic performance.

Other longstanding, unsolved challenges are fully addressed, such as long overdue equity adjustments that are realized through the designation of gaming revenues; legitimate discipline in spending that recognizes regular and necessary increases, indexing growth rates to sales tax collection; and the inclusion of local voter approval for future borrowing.

Finally and most importantly, true property ownership will be fully restored by House Bill 1275 through the total elimination of the school property tax for every homeowner.

In short, by relying on the flexible and fair, same-rate sales tax, we can restore the Constitutional right to own private property for every Pennsylvanian, while improving the economy of the state and of the individual through the comprehensive reform provided by the School Property Tax Elimination Act.

Join me and 27 taxpayer groups in support of this historic piece of legislation by participating in the Save Our Homes Rally on June 2 from 11:00 a.m. to noon in the Capitol Rotunda. For further information, please visit http://ptcc.us

State Rep. Sam Rohrer is a Republican who represents the 128th House District in Berks County.

Property Tax Elimination Rally!

From the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition:

This is just a short note today to remind you about the school property tax elimination rally that will be held in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg on Monday, June 2, from 11:00 AM – Noon. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to take our demands to the unwilling politicians in their own house and to meet and show our support for those lawmakers who understand this vital issue and are who are working for us.

This is shaping up to be a terrific event with a number of great speakers and a lot of taxpayer participation. To make the greatest impression on reluctant lawmakers we need as many folks as possible to attend to voice their support for HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act.

Please do all that you can to join in this event and please help to spread the word to others who will be willing to attend. The time for action is NOW!

For those of you who might need transportation to the rally there are a number of bus trips planned in east and central Pennsylvania that still have seats available. This is a convenient way to get to the capitol and to establish camaraderie with others who are working for true education finance reform. A list of available buses and contact names are listed below my signature; all are $20 or less depending on location and will be reserved on a first-come basis.

I hope to meet all of you on June 2!

David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator

Pottstown Area:

Bus will be leaving from the Wal-Mart in the Pottstown Center on Shoemaker Road at 8:30 AM. Contact Gene Endress of the PCTA's Owen J. Roberts taxpayer group at gendre1@comcast.net

Reading Area:

Bus will be leaving from the K-Mart at Rt. 222 and Rt. 724, Shillington, at 8:30 AM. Contact David Baldinger of the PTCC at taxrally@mail.com

Lancaster County Area:

Bus for the Eastern Lancaster County/Western Chester County area will be leaving from the Christiana Fire House at 8:30 AM with a pickup stop in Lancaster city. Contact John McCartney of the PCTA's CLASTA group at johnjhere30@comcast.net

York County Area:

Bus will leave from the Southeastern York County area (Delta, Fawn Grove, Peach Bottom) with a pickup stop near York City. Contact Margie Lavin of the PCTA's SETRC group at info@setrc.net or Warren Bulette of the PCTA's YCTC group at bulette@juno.com

Real stories of how taxes are killing Pennsylvania

Check out the TONY PHYRILLAS blog for some perspective on property taxes and a link to real stories of how high property taxes are hurting Pennsylvania residents.

Property tax reform should be the pay raise of 2008 when it comes to deciding which members of the Pennsylvania Legislature deserve re-election.

Tax burden continues to grow

With Tax Day looming on April 15, there's an interesting post at TONY PHYRILLAS about how Pennsylvania ranks in the TOP 20 in combine taxes (state and federal).

In other words, when you factor in the income tax, sales tax, property tax, gasoline tax and tobacco tax, Pennsylvania residents pay more than residents of 30 other states.

We can't blame all of this on Gov. Ed Rendell. Only the state income tax and tobacco taxes have risen during his tenure, but didn't the governor promise to lower everyone's property taxes while standing on his head?

And it's not for lack of trying. Rendell has floated the idea of raising the gasoline tax. The governor is also pushing a new tax on electricity and a tax on businesses to fund his "cover all Pennsylvanians" health care plan.

The Real Faces of School Property Taxes

I recently came across a quote from former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner that truly describes the political situation in Harrisburg: "Politics is the only business where doing nothing other than making the other guy look bad is an acceptable outcome."

Gov. Warner's statement accurately describes the reason why the school property tax elimination issue continues in limbo in Harrisburg: self-serving political gamesmanship that ignores the needs of the people in favor of political gain. But if you're willing to participate, today's Action Item can be a great help in moving the property tax issue past the games and into the forefront of the Harrisburg agenda.

There have been recent announcements from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives where lawmakers tout their agenda for healthcare reform, energy reform, and leasing the Turnpike — all designed to grab headlines before the elections. But NOTHING is being said about property tax reform because NOTHING is being done about what is probably the most urgent issue facing Pennsylvanians today.

It's my opinion that many lawmakers tend to view these issues in the abstract, seeing them simply as pawns to be played on the chessboard of Harrisburg election year politics rather than considering how these problems affect the lives of the people that they supposedly represent.

It's time to show the lawmakers the REAL faces of the property tax issue to let them know how their political games affect the lives of REAL people!

The Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition and Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations are collecting real-life stories of folks who are in distress from relentlessly increasing school property taxes. These stories will be compiled into one document to be presented to legislative leaders and the governor as examples of how their procrastination on this issue is destroying the lives of Pennsylvania homeowners – both working families and retirees.

During the next few days PLEASE send a paragraph or two to the PTCC that tells how out-of-control school property taxes are affecting your and your family's quality of life. You may sign the letter if you choose or submit it anonymously, but please at least indicate your county of residence. If you have neighbors or friends who are experiencing financial difficulties because of the property tax problem, please have them send their stories as well.

Send your letters to pataxpayers@gmail.com; the compilation as submitted to the lawmakers will be posted on the PTCC Web site when it's completed.

David Baldinger
PTCC Administrator

Tony Phyrillas: GOP should hold Montgomery County

An internal poll done for the Republican candidates in the much-watched race for Montgomery County Commissioner shows the GOP slate of Bruce Castor and Jim Matthews keeping control of this crucial SE Pennsylvania county for four more years.

Republicans have controlled Montgomery County politics for the past 138 years, but Democrats have been chipping away in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Castor, the current Montgomery County District Attorney, is on top with 55 percent support, according to the poll. Democrat Joe Hoeffel is second with 51 percent. Jim Matthews comes in third with 40 percent. Incumbent Democrat Ruth Damsker brings up the rear with 34 percent.

If the trend holds until Election Day, Castor and Matthews would keep a Republican majority on the board, with Hoeffel as the minority commissioner.

Castor is the best known political figure in Montgomery County and is well respected as a tough prosecutor. He will be the top vote-getter on Nov. 6. Hoefell, a former county commissioner and former area Congressman, has lots of name recognition, too, because he's always running for something. His ultra liberal politics will attract support from the eastern half of the county.

It's no secret that Gov. Ed Rendell is working hard to capture one of the traditional Republican SE Pennsylvania counties for the Democrats. The key is control of county government. Rendell wants a base where he can operate to swing SE Pennsylvania for the Democrats in the 2008 presidential race.

With the Montgomery County commissioners' race looking safe for the GOP, expect Rendell to concentrate on Chester County and Bucks County in the final weeks of the campaign.

Looking over the latest poll numbers, Matthews, who ran for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania on the Lynn Swann ticket in 2006, has gained 6 points on Damsker in the past month. The last poll showed Matthews and Damsker dead even.

Damkser has lost ground with some wacky behavior and oddball comments. She brought up the "R" word (reassessment) in a county that is doing very well financially. Property taxes are a big issue in Montgomery County and a countywide reassessment would be a de facto tax increase for many residents.

Damsker also has had several widely publicized spats with Commissioners' Chairman Tom Ellis and even broke into tears are a recent commissioners' meeting. There's no crying in politics!

The current GOP-led board managed to cut property taxes in 2007 and Castor/Matthews have promised another property tax cut in 2008 if they're elected.

The poll by Neil Newhouse also asked potential voters to rank the candidates via favorable and unfavorable traits.

Here are the results:

Castor -- Fav. 68% Unfav 9%
Hoeffel -- Fav. 57% Unfav 24%
Matthews -- Fav. 34% Unfav. 6%
Damsker -- Fav. 25% Unfav. 9%

And for laughs, the poll also asked views on other politicians:

Specter -- Fav. 68% Unfav. 28%
Rendell -- Fav. 70% Unfav. 27%
Giuliani -- Fav. 64% Unfav. 29%
H. Clinton -- Fav. 51% Unfav. 46%
Bush -- Fav. 34% Unfav. 65%

(Note the difference between Giuliani's and Clinton's numbers in Montgomery County. If Republicans have any hope of winning Pennsylvania in 2008, Giuliani has to be the party nominee.)

Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Copyright © 2005-2007, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.

Tony Phyrillas: N.J. delivers property tax cuts

I'm tired of hearing Pennsylvania politicians say cutting property taxes is too difficult a task for them.

Gov. Ed Rendell and Legislative leaders from both parties have said repeatedly that property tax reform has been the No. 1 priority in Harrisburg for 30 years, but nobody has been able to solve the problem.

That's nonsense. Rendell and the Legislature are full of baloney. Property taxes can be cut. But Pennsylvania politicians lack the will to do the job.

If you want proof that property taxes can cut, look no further than neighboring New Jersey.
In less than one year, Gov. Jon Corzine and the New Jersey state legislature have come up with a plan to deliver property tax relief to nearly all of the state's residents.

I should also note that New Jersey has fewer legislators than Pennsylvania (120 in N.J. compared to 253 in Pennsylvania) and they are paid less than their counterparts in Pennsylvania.

Rendell has been playing a shell game on property taxes for more than four years now. He's managed to distract enough voters with promises of tax relief to get himself re-elected to a second term.

I've never been a fan of Jon Corzine, the multi-millionaire businessman who bought his way into public office. After Corzine became bored serving in the U.S. Senate, he took his millions and purchased the governor's seat in New Jersey.

But I have to tip my hat to Corzine. As a candidate, he promised to cut New Jersey property taxes, which are even higher than property taxes in Pennsylvania.

After one year in office, Corzine kept his word. He is about to sign a $2.3 billion property tax relief bill for New Jersey residents. About 2 million N.J. residents will see tax breaks averaging $1,051 under the tax-relief plan. State officials predict that 95 percent of the New Jersey households will benefit from the tax cuts.

Contrast that with Gov. Rendell, Corzine's fellow tax-and-spend liberal across the Delaware River.

Candidate Rendell promised to cut property taxes for all Pennsylvania residents by 30 percent. That was in 2002. Gov. Rendell reneged on the promise in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Safely re-elected to a second term, Rendell is now talking about raising — not lowering — taxes.

Even his proposal to raise the sales tax in order to cut property taxes is smoke and mirrors. Only one-third of the money from the increased sales tax would go to property tax relief. The rest would feed Ed Spendell’s enormous appetite for spending.

Rendell's parlor tricks with Pennsylvania’s budget have caught the attention of Americans for Tax Reform, a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups in Washington, D.C.

"Maybe next year, Gov. 'Spendell' should just use his budget as a list of taxes he does NOT want to raise," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "That would probably save his staff some time and paper."

In addition to his 2002 boast that he could cut property taxes standing on his head, Rendell also promised that Act 72 would help lower property taxes. That was a lie.

Rendell promised that the approval of casino gambling in Pennsylvania would lower property taxes. More lies.

Rendell promised that Act 1 would lead to lower taxes. He lied again.

Now Rendell is promising to cut property taxes if the Legislature approves a 16.7-percent increase in the state sales tax. If he lied to us in each of his first four years in office, why would anyone think Rendell will keep his promise?

That is a question voters need to pose to the 102 Democrats in the state House and the 21 Democrats in the state Senate. How far are these lemmings willing to follow Rendell? Especially when Ed Spendell's policies will sink Pennsylvania into a fiscal crisis.

Pennsylvania voters need to make sure their state legislators understand that if they vote for any more Rendell tax increases, they will be out of a job in 2008.

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. Tony recently was awarded First Prize in Opinion Columns from the 2,000 member national trade organization Suburban Newspapers of America. The Mercury won seven awards, more than any other newspaper in the Pennsylvania. E-mail him at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com