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Community Corner

Mark Painter issues News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

State Rep. Mark Painter
D-Montgomery
www.pahouse.com/painter

Painter: 'I'm not giving up on H.B. 76'  

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HARRISBURG, April 21 – State Rep. Mark Painter said he continues to be a strong supporter of H.B. 76 because the benefits to homeowners in Montgomery County outweigh the negative aspects of the plan.

As a co-sponsor of H.B. 76, Painter also was one of 59 House members to vote for the amendment that inserted the language of H.B. 76 into another bill on Oct. 1. (See roll call here.)

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"House Bill 76 is bottled up in the House Finance Committee. In the meantime, I’m not content to just sit back and wait to see if the committee will act. That’s not how I roll," said Painter, D-Montgomery. 

"I have homeowners coming to me right now, today, who are in danger of losing their homes. I’m in no way backing off my support for House Bill 76, but if there’s something I can do in the meantime that will help a few seniors keep their homes, I will do it,” said Painter, D-Montgomery.

Painter said that while he continues to promote H.B. 76 in the House, he will be introducing several other bills that are meant to help fix specific problems with property taxes that may not be addressed, even if H.B. 76 becomes law. 

"I see pages and pages of sheriff's sales in the newspaper every month. This is just not right, and I will not lay back and watch hundreds of district residents lose their homes to property taxes while the House and Senate are considering property tax elimination legislation. While my district office staff frequently reaches out to people in danger of losing their homes to a sheriff's sale on a regular basis, we currently cannot help every senior that may lose their homes to property taxes," Painter said.

Painter said that H.B. 76 does not eliminate municipal or county property taxes, or school taxes that are designated to pay back debt on capital projects, so even if it eventually becomes law there would still be some seniors who may struggle to pay their property taxes. For that reason, he will be introducing other bills to address those issues, as well as to make improvements to the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program which is funded through the Pennsylvania Lottery.

"The Lottery Fund has grown over the years and we should be providing additional property tax relief to seniors by increasing the amount of the Property Tax/Rent Rebate," he said.

Two improvements that Painter would like to make to the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program are allowing property taxes to be deducted from income, which would increase eligibility, and allowing some seniors with high property tax bills to get a bigger rebate.

For example: family one makes $35,000 a year and pays $1,000 in property taxes, and family two makes $40,000 a year and pays $6,000 in property taxes. Both earn $34,000 after paying property taxes. However, family one with their $1,000 property tax bill gets a rebate, while family two with their $6,000 property tax bill does not get a rebate.

"This is simply unfair, so my bill would correct that issue,” Painter said.

Also, Painter will be introducing a bill that would allow eligible seniors to get 15 percent of their property taxes back in a rebate if that amount would be higher than their existing Property Tax/Rent Rebate.

Right now, the rebates are based on income, not how much property taxes are paid. Therefore, two families earning the same amount could have wildly different property taxes paid and still get the same rebate.

"My bill would increase rebates for seniors with high property tax bills by allowing them to get 15 percent of their property taxes back, in the event that number is higher than their existing rebate," he said.

Painter emphasized that none of these bills is a substitute for H.B. 76, which provides comprehensive property tax elimination.

"I encourage people to call the members of the House Finance Committee or the Senate. Tell them that you want them to support House Bill 76 and Senate Bill 76 and you want them to pass the bill. I will continue to fight hard to convince my colleagues that we desperately need this kind of comprehensive property tax elimination," Painter said.

Member of the House Finance Committee can be found here

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CONTACT: Mike Lavanga
Office of Rep. Mark Painter
610-326-9563

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