The effort to eliminate school property taxes is alive and well, according to a news alert e-mailed this week by the Berks County-based Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition.
The coalition cites three reasons:
During their campaigns, many of the new state House members, including those representing parts of Berks, promised to join the fight.
State Rep. Dave Reed, an Indiana County Republican who chairs the party's Policy Committee, has formed three subcommittees.
The panel charged with recommending GOP tax policy has state Rep. Jim Cox, a Spring Township Republican, as co-chairman.
Many of the members are for elimination, and Cox, who was re-elected in November to a third two-year term, has made tax elimination his focus this year.
He's formed a bipartisan property tax caucus that has nearly half the House's 203 members on board.
Cox's involvement is significant because he was a chief of staff for former state Rep. Sam Rohrer, a Robeson Township Republican.
He wrote much of Rohrer's proposed School Property Tax Elimination Act, which would have replaced the school tax with an expanded sales tax.
The proposal never got off the ground in the Legislature, even though it is the most popular plan among taxpayer groups such as the coalition.
Cox sent out a letter explaining that he formed the caucus because he felt a new approach was needed.
"We've been spending years trying to rally enough support to have a vote on the bill," he wrote. "I feel very strongly that we need to amass support for our cause before we put another plan out there that just sits in a committee and never comes to the floor of the House for debate and a vote."
The 85 members of the caucus, and more that could join, will formulate a proposal that has broad support before the proposed law is even written, according to Cox's letter.
He also stated that he's not looking for a compromise, but total elimination of the tax.
Another sign that the elimination movement is gaining momentum is a growth spurt in membership in the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations.
It now has 43 taxpayer groups involved, with five added recently. Five more are expected to join soon.
Cox is working with that group, too.
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