Dear Citizens of Pennsylvania:

With more than half of Pennsylvania’s counties raising property taxes this year on top of similar increases last year, citizens are feeling the crunch.

Some of these increases are in double digits. But counties have had no choice.

Counties have been compelled to go back to the local property tax base to make up for sharp funding decreases at the state and federal levels. The property tax is currently the almost-exclusive source of county tax revenue. There is no where else to turn.

It is time for Harrisburg to take action to achieve fairness for local citizens.

For the past few years, counties have put a lot of energy into the cause of achieving tax fairness for Pennsylvania’s property tax payers. The association’s Blueprint for Local Tax Fairness spells out a plan that will provide a sensible menu of options for counties.

The Blueprint key elements are simple:

The real estate tax does not equitably or reliably reflect a homeowner’s economic condition; in other words, it doesn’t consider a taxpayer’s ability to pay. Both personal income taxes and sales taxes are more sensitive to an individual’s economic condition.

Effective measures that are "tax fair" allow counties to reduce the real estate tax in proportion to revenue generated by other sources of income, such as a personal income or sales tax, but should not generate windfall revenue for the taxing entity.

And, any effective tax fairness measure should have options. Counties should be able to choose their options based on what is best for their individual community. You can read more about the Blueprint's options by following the links to the left.

In the last two legislative sessions, school property tax reform and options for municipalities were both addressed; it is now time to address the county tax base and provide a menu of alternatives to the county property tax.

Percy Dougherty

Lehigh County Council

2007 CCAP President