“I know we’re working on it”, he said. He said that $2 billion in local property-tax relief would be achieved by hiking the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7.25 percent – a regressive measure.
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There is no agreement on how property taxes in each school district would be affected.
The Morning Call is reporting that under the deal being negotiated, public schools will get $350 million more for instruction and operations, which is a 6 percent increase.
That was encouraging news for a state government that’s worked 133 days into the current fiscal year without a budget, to the growing concern of educators and social service administrators trying to make do with no aid from Harrisburg. Wolf’s plan to hike the personal income tax to send more money to schools was voted down overwhelmingly in the state House last month.
Taxes collected from the state’s 12 casinos that now go for property tax reductions – $616 million in fiscal 2014 – would be re-purposed to help pay the state’s ballooning pension system contributions.
A few preliminary details include a budget in excess of $30.7 billion, boosted by slot-machine gambling revenue that now is passed along to homeowners as school property tax cuts.
But one key tax missing from the equation, and oft touted by Wolf during the campaign and since he took office, is a severance tax on gas drillers in the state. Under that scenario, an additional $200 million would be added to basic education, and special education and pre-K would each get an additional $50 million. Republicans declined to specify an education spending figure when asked by reporters, but agreed that the working budget framework includes a substantial increase for schools.
Still, disagreements remained about the extent of settled details. “I think everyone will get a win of a few sort”.
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In October, York County commissioners approved opening a $20 million line of credit so it can maintain services through the end of the year. “It seems we are positively moving in the right direction”.
