Fox Chapel Parents Group

Act 1, “Taxpayer Relief Act” was enacted June of 2006. Designated as a property tax reduction, it is in fact a tax shift. Tax “help” from gaming money is not a factor for our district at this point, because the law states that a reserve fund of $400 million must be established before any money can be disseminated to the different districts in their qualifying amounts. This law changes district funding in a way that could negatively affect our public schools.

On the May ballot, we will be asked if we want to lower property taxes by either implementing a Personal Income Tax or increasing our Earned Income Tax. The public hearing will illustrate the differences in these two taxes and how each one will affect the taxpaying community. If the referendum fails, we will keep our current property tax structure.

To protect the future of our schools in this district, we need to ensure stability. Only by preserving the funding for our district can we maintain our property values. It’s important to recognize that elementary students will have the longest exposure to the effects of this law on our local education.

Things to consider at the meeting: how do we keep the bulk of our revenue in the most stable, most easily collected and most predictable form that will allow us to maintain revenue for our district? Who benefits from this tax and who does not?