buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Sep

26

Property Taxes

September 26, 2005 |

Pressure is on to end property taxes as we know it in Allegheny County and in Pennsylvania as a whole. With real estate values growing at rates above official CPI, that’s putting pressure on pocket books. Incomes are lagging CPI already, so with taxes going up, discretionary income is going down. That leaves taxpayers angry.

Of course, politicians don’t know the word “cut”, so rather than cutting, they look for quick fixes. Raising taxes isn’t easy, so they do what they can to conjure up new revenue sources. To wit, Governor Rendell now wants to require all 501 school districts take part in Act 72, a law passed last year that would use slot machine revenue to cut property taxes by an average of about $300 per year. This would revoke taxing authority from localities and shift it to the state.

Of course, its doubtful the projections from slots will be as rosy as politicians promise, and that will in turn leave a shortfall… which must be made up for somewhere other than cutting.. since politicians will never risk election by cutting any programs, even if it is more sensible.

So what sort of option does that leave Pennsylvania, a state with a very old population, especially in the Greater Pittsburgh area and Philadelphia democrat strongholds? A solution that pleases the older voter: “tax someone else, not me!” That translates as “don’t hold me accountable for my lifetime of voting for things we can’t afford” and “pass the buck down to the younger wage earners via an increase in the income tax.” That’s our prediction.

And already, some in the Business arena say the burden is being shifted to them. On this, Cliff Shannon, president of SMC Business Councils, a group representing about 4,000 small business owners, notes, “If you squeeze down residential increases, it’s easier to get elected next time out.” Shannon continued, “But five years down the line you’ll have fewer jobs and fewer taxpayers.” As well, this too shifts the costs onto consumers, who are the ones paying for the newly inflated prices reflecting the tax increase bourn by the business. That, and it makes PA located businesses, once more, even more non-competitive when compared to their neighboring states.

Nothing like walking out on the bill for a lifetime of irresposible voting. But that’s what this will likely be. Moreover, it will allow politicians to claim having cut taxes, when in truth, they’ve merely dumped on a different generation.

Thanks.

We have our own suggestion: Cut the Freaking Government for a change.


Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind