Pa. House GOP property-tax cut sponsor outlines proposal

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The sponsor of the Pennsylvania House Republicans’ counter-proposal to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s property-tax relief plan says he’s hoping for a committee vote on the measure next week.

Rep. Stan Saylor presented his plan to the House Finance Committee at a hearing today.

Like Wolf, Saylor proposes increasing the state income and sales taxes to provide relief from rising school property taxes. The York County Republican’s bill would funnel $2.7 billion in income-tax money for school boards to reduce the millage rates on which property taxes are based and $1.6 billion in sales-tax money to expand the existing “homestead” program to provide property tax cuts for homeowners and businesses.

Unlike Wolf’s plan, Saylor’s wouldn’t provide extra help for the poorest school districts, nor would it provide tax relief for renters.