Property Tax Relief for Seniors

State Representative John Perzel announced today that a bill eliminating property taxes to school districts for seniors is now an amendment to all property tax relief bills currently under consideration in the House.
Residents over 65 years old with a fixed income of $40,000 or lower would be able to file their property tax with the state for full reimbursement. The state would pay the districts the estimated $1 billion with the estimated $1.1 billion of gaming revenue. Perzel says if every state agency that proposes to use the gaming money is able to do so, then there won't be enough to go around. He says keeping senior citizens in their homes should be the House's first priority.
The amendment is attached to 3 bills providing property tax relief for all residents by raising sales and income taxes. Perzel doesn't agree with those methods, saying they attempt to trade a tax that is written off at the federal level with ones that are not, and they will have to keep raising taxes to counter rising property taxes.
A vote today in the House Appropriations Committee approved two such measures, including HB 1600, which carries the Older Pennsylvanian Property Tax Elimination Act.