HARRISBURG, Pa. - A state lawmaker wants to give homeowners $800. It's a simple proposal of increasing personal income tax and expanding sales tax on more items and services.
According to WalletHub, Pennsylvania has once of the highest property tax rates in the country. At an average tax rate of 1.58 percent, the state ranks 10th worst in the country.
State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski of Luzerne County cays he has a straight forward plan that would give families and seniors school property tax relief.
"I'm proposing that every single property tax owner in Pennsylvania will get $800 off of their school property tax," said Pashinski.
The rebate program would be funded by an increase to PIT. It would increase from 3.07 percent to 3.49 percent. Pashinski's proposal also means you'd be shelling out more money to pay sales tax on more items and services like professional sports admissions, dance, theatre and music admissions, and personal services like hair cuts and tanning.
"All of those areas are not taxed at the present time and would total to well over $700,000,000 and that money along with the PIT averages out to $2.8 billion," said Pashinski. "That's how we're able to give every property tax owner an $800 reduction in their school property tax."
Pashinski says he plans to formally introduce this legislation within the next several weeks. More details on Pashinski's plan can be found here.