Mar. 03, 2015
HARRISURG - Rep. David Parker (R-Monroe) heard some good things in Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2015-16 budget address today, but said the plan “needs a lot of work.”
Parker issued the following statement after Wolf’s address to the joint session of the General Assembly:
“The biggest obstacle to reforming school property taxes is the 20-year-old ‘hold harmless’ provision in the state Education Code which states that no school district can receive less state funding than the year before and is based on census results from 1991.”
“While it is encouraging to hear the governor acknowledge we have a school property tax problem in Pennsylvania, his solution of raising taxes on the middle class in return for pennies in property tax relief won’t really help those struggling to keep their homes out of foreclosure.”
“Under Wolf’s budget proposal, the state’s Personal Income Tax and sales tax would both be increased dramatically to pay for billions of dollars in new spending. Reforming the education funding formula so that growing school districts get the funds needed to educate their influx of new students and passing real property tax elimination are the basis for true education funding reform.”
Representative David Parker
115th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charles Lardner
717.260.6443
clardner@pahousegop.com
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