JULY 6, 2011 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Corbett's First Inning Scorecard

July signals the coming of two breaks in Pennsylvania—Major League Baseball's All-Star break and the end of the state budget season.   Having endured his first budget as the commonwealth's chief executive, Gov. Tom Corbett has effectively finished the first inning of a nine-inning baseball game.  The question is, how did

JUNE 23, 2011 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Give Voters a Say on School Taxes

Five years ago, state lawmakers passed Act 1 to provide property tax relief and give voters a voice on school tax increases.  But since slot machine gambling was introduced in Pennsylvania, school property taxes have grown by almost $700 per homeowner.  And yet 98 percent of school districts have avoided voter referendum on tax hikes.&

MAY 2, 2011 | Testimony by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Property Taxpayer Referendum

Testimony of Nathan A. Benefield to the Pennsylvania House Finance Committee

House Bills 1326 and 1383 take an important step giving voters more control over school taxes, by eliminating the referendum loopholes allowed under Act 1.  Combined with mandate relief legislation to give school boards more flexibility in spending, these bills will help control the growth in school spending and property taxes.

APRIL 22, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

School Taxpayer Referendum & Property Tax Relief

Gov. Tom Corbett's FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall spending to pre-stimulus levels and proposes no new taxes. This is the fifth in a series of fact sheets on the state budge

APRIL 4, 2011 | CF In The News

Let voters decide all tax hike proposals

DECEMBER 9, 2009 | Testimony by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Costing-Out the Price of Education

In the last two years, Gov. Rendell has used the "costing-out" study to justify proposed increases in state education subsidies. Yet while costing-out or "adequacy" studies have been conducted in over 35 states to quantify the amount of education funding needed, in no case did spending increases result in dramatic improvement of adequacy standar

MAY 8, 2007 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Act 1 Property-to-Income Tax Shift

On May 15, 2007, voters across the Commonwealth will be asked to vote on a property-to-income tax shift to pay for public education expenditures. The Property Tax Relief Act of 2006 (Act 1 of the Special Session) requires every school district—except Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton—to ask voters if they want to increase tax

FEBRUARY 1, 2007 | News Release by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Act 1: Who Wins, Who Loses?

Commonwealth Foundation provides guide to Gov. Rendell's Property Tax Relief Act

FEBRUARY 1, 2007 | Policy Brief by GRANT R. GULIBON

Taxpayers Guide to the Rendell Property Tax Relief Act of 2006

For more than three decades, Pennsylvania policymakers have repeatedly attempted to devise a mechanism to reduce school district property taxes on homeowners. Such a mechanism has been elusive. A number of past attempts at school district tax reform—including Act 50 of 1998 and Act 72 of 2004—failed for two main reasons: 1) school di

AUGUST 15, 2006 | Commentary by MARY YODER

"Back-End Referendum": No Taxpayer Protection

The recent enactment of Special Session Act 1 of 2006, the so-called “Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act”, came as a disappointment to taxpayers throughout the Commonwealth who are fed up with increasing school property taxes. When given the opportunity to tighten the “back-end” referendum provisions that existed under Act