Let's face it -- property tax reform isn't the sexiest issue out there. But I probably hear more about it than any other issue in state government. It's a huge problem around here.
State Rep. Seth Grove, R-Hanover Township, recently announced that he's going to introduce some property tax reform legislation. I hope to get him on the phone to talk about it, and post the sound clip here. In the meantime, here's a news release from the House Republican caucus, outlining Grove's plan.
Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) announced his intention today to introduce legislation that would give homeowners a larger share of gaming revenues for property tax relief.
"Expanded gaming was sold to the public as a means to lower school property taxes, but homeowners have not seen the promised benefit of slot machines," said Grove. "My legislation will reformulate the distribution of revenue received from the tax on slot machines to give property tax relief a larger share. After all, property tax relief was the intended purpose of expanding gaming."
Grove's legislation would redistribute funds from the gross terminal revenue tax to the Property Tax Relief Fund as follows:
- Transfers the 12 percent from the gross terminal revenue from the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund to the State Gaming Fund for further property tax relief.
- Remove the distributions for improvements to the racetrack areas.
Phase out the funding for the Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund over 10 years.
- Decrease the allocation for local law enforcement grants and redirect funds to the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Attorney General to enforce the act and prevent organized crime.
Grove noted that York County homeowners are expected to receive slightly less property tax relief this year than they did last year because more people applied for the homestead/farmstead exemption. A complete list of estimated property tax relief per homestead and farmstead, listed by county and school district, is available at his Web site, RepGrove.com.
"People are fed up with school property taxes. It is my hope to give Pennsylvanians the real property tax relief they are seeking by redistributing the funds collected from the tax on slot machines," said Grove.
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