Dear
Friends,
Good morning. Would you vote your
county commissioners, school directors, and municipal elected officials out of
office if they chose to abandon the property tax and substituted a tax on sales
or income instead? After I read the Morning Call’s story (Feb. 15) about county
commissioners asking state lawmakers to let them use taxes other than property
taxes, I called State Senator Rob Wonderling (R-24th) and State
Representative Paul Clymer (145th) for their thoughts.
Senior citizens living on fixed
incomes complain about property taxes. So do business owners if they own their
own properties. In previous columns, I’ve interviewed Bucks County
Commissioners from both parties who would abandon the property tax if given the
power. I’ve never met a legislator, county commissioner, school director or
municipal leader who praises the property tax.
But until now, the legislature won’t let the 67
counties, 501 school districts and more than 2,600 municipalities determine
what and how is the fairest method to tax for services? The million-dollar
question is: why is the legislature so reluctant to let local government make
that determination for themselves?
Why won’t the Pennsylvania legislature allow local
governments to substitute a tax on sales or income instead? I’ve concluded that
the state legislature won’t relinquish control over something they presently
have. After you read Wonderling’s and Clymer’s answers, you may have a better
clue.
“The General Assembly’s been loath
to allow county governments to tax without oversight,” Wonderling began. “It’s
a function of traditional history. There’s always been tension between counties
and the legislature.”
Would you vote for a bill, which
gave local governments the right to determine the answer for themselves, I
asked? “I’d want to know what kind of tax and what purpose the tax was for,”
Wonderling replied. “But yes, I would be supportive of the concept.” And then
he drove home the point. “But the state needs to have oversight,” he added.
Clymer was more cautious. A lot of
“what ifs” surfaced. “The legislature must have oversight,” he said. “If you
had recommendations from the three types of local governments, that could
create problems.”
I answered with a question. What does it matter if
different counties, school boards and municipalities use different tax methods?
Why does taxation have to be uniform? If Bucks County substitutes a sales or
income tax for the property tax and Montgomery County doesn’t, what’s wrong
with that, I asked?
“You’d have a hodgepodge system,” Clymer replied.
“You could create a firestorm. What about unforeseen consequences? If you
changed to a sales tax and the economy worsened, would that create a strain on
the people? You need public hearings,” Clymer continued. “What is the economic
impact? I think you would convene a meeting of the county commissioners, the
association of school boards, the association of boroughs and townships to get
information.”
Personally, I believe that each of
these local forms of government should conduct hearings…but independent from
their neighbors. For example, if the county commissioners held hearings in the
13 regions of Bucks County, the elected officials would find out fast whether
the concept to abandon the property tax had merit. Would tax payers be happier
with a tax levied on sales or income instead?
Clymer told me that he’d make inquires about how
local governments could start the ball rolling for change. “I’ll get back to
you,” he promised. Clymer is a man of his word. “I’m open to new ideas,” he
concluded.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith