Property Tax Elimination Plan

My interactive worksheet demonstrates how an expansion of the Sales Tax base can be used to eliminate school property taxes. The total revenue from school property taxes in Pennsylvania is approximately $10 billion. The worksheet allows you to add a tax rate (current Sales Tax rate is 6 percent) to item(s) currently untaxed (for example 8 percent), to generate the $10 billion in revenue needed to eliminate school property taxes. There is an area on the worksheet that keeps a running tally of your revenue; once your “deficit” reaches zero, you have enough revenue in an expanded Sales Tax to completely eliminate school property taxes. Keep in mind, for each $1,000 in property tax reductions, people would need to spend $16,667 in newly taxable items under an expanded Sales Tax to equal the savings of eliminating school property taxes. Click here for a list of items that could possibly be added to generate replacement revenues to eliminate school property taxes.

I’m curious to see what you come up with. E-mail me your thoughts!