Category: Taxes

Let’s Make It Easier To Rent The Home You Buy

Let’s Make It Easier To Rent The Home You Buy — The New Jersey property tax is a burning issue in that state’s gubernatorial race with incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine and Republican challenger both agreeing it is a big problem.

The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that The Garden State has the highest in the nation albeit TaxFoundation.org says that Texas held the crown in 2008 — note Texas does not have an income tax.

So that brings us to Pennsylvania which is 11th highest in property taxes according  TaxFoundation. The property tax is the cruelest tax. You lose your income you don’t pay an income tax nor would any food or clothing you buy be taxed. The government still, however, wants you to cough up something for your home.

The sad thing is that Pennsylvanians could see a nice cut in their property tax burden with some simple changes to the law, and even though they would be spending less money  they could see services improve.

The first and most profound reform would be to prohibit teacher strikes. Pennsylvania is one of only 13 states to allow teacher strikes. Without this heavy club you would not see 4-5 percent annual raises for PSEA members — who include guidance counselors and nurses along with classroom teachers.

Next would be to repeal the prevailing wage law. The law, passed in 1961, requires that contractors pay wages set by the state Department of Labor and Industry for all public works projects. The Commonwealth Foundation estimates that labor costs for public sector construction jobs in Pennsylvania average 37 percent higher than what the private sector pays for the same work because of this. Nine states have repealed their prevailing wage laws while nine others never had any.

Finally, we repeal the The Pennsylvania Separations Act of 1913, an archaic but expensive law that requires that public entities solicit separate bids and award separate contracts for electrical, heating, ventilating and plumbing work undertaken as part of public construction projects in which costs exceed $4,000.

Bet next year’s tax bill that if these reforms were passed the cost of owning your home — or would that be renting the home you buy? — go down.

Let’s Make It Easier To Rent The Home You Buy

Senate Will Let Philly Hike Sales Tax

The state Senate, btw, today, approved 32-17 a bill that would allow Philadelphia to increase its sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent for five years and stretch out its pension contributions to generate $700 million to postpone the payment to the piper.

Question will there be any car dealers or appliance stores left in the city in
five years?

Former Phillie Gets Jail For Tax Violation

Former Phillie Jerry Koosman didn’t pay income taxes in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and, despite paying restitution, will serve a six-month jail sentence.

Timothy Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, and was named Secretary of the Treasury by Barack Obama.

Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY15) — among other things – failed to report $75,000 on income from a rental property he owns in the Dominican Republic and gets to chair the House Ways and Means Committee.

When one votes for a Democrat, one is a sheep voting for a wolf.

Former Phillie Gets Jail For Tax Violation

 

Tough Love For Philly

The Senate Republicans led by Majority Leader and Delaware County’s own Dominic Pileggi (R-9) is going slow on giving Philadelphia permission to raise its sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent.

Pileggi says solving the state budget mess comes first.

Well, kudos for Pileggi. Showing the city some tough love and forcing them to cut some fat might keep it from going the way of Detroit.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, btw, is upset with Pileggi action. If the Inky is sincere about helping  Philly’s financial situation they would move their operations back to the city from Montgomery County.

Marple Newtown’s Activity Fee

Marple Newtown School District is going to start charging students a fee to participate in after-school activities. The idea is to save tax dollars.

So rather than going after the special interests that wildly inflate the cost of education, the powers-that-be figure on going after a group they feel won’t raise a fuss they can’t handle — namely students who’d rather play a sport or music or take the stage than goof off in front of a TV or an X-box, and their parents.

Granted taxes can’t be raised — especially property taxes in this economy.

So what should a school board do?

Well they can ask the faculty and administration for give-backs (cue laughter). Ask the teachers to coach and direct without the extra-curricular pay, for instance, sort of like Little League coaches. (cue more laughter).

What else? How about passing a resolution demanding our legislators exempt school districts from the prevailing wage law for construction and renovation? (cue more laughter)

The prevailing wage requirement and other construction mandates hike costs up to 40 percent — IIRC — over what a business owner would pay.

Quick quiz MN math students: What’s 40 percent of the $65 million slated to go to your new high school?

And if you really want to control spending — and remove the not-so-good -teachers that afflict every district — start demanding that the state change the law to let school boards replace teachers when their contracts end.  More than enough money would be found to cover after-school activities.

And education would improve.

Rendell’s Challenge

Gov. Ed Rendell has challenged Republican lawmakers to come up with a budget that doesn’t require a tax hike. How about just pass last year’s budget? Granted a lot of state workers won’t get the raises they expected. OTOH, did you last year?

Or how about this: eliminate the laws requiring governments to pay for legal advertising (which is being done); eliminate the prevailing wage requirement which hikes the cost of state and local construction projects by at least 10 percent; and return to school boards the right not to hire back teachers and other public school union members when their contracts end. Since 1970, school districts have not not been able to replace union members upon the expiration of their contract which means they keep paying them without being able (practically)  to discipline them when they fail to perform  to standards.

If this was done, the state could end a goodly bit of municipal and school subsidy and let the windfall the locals get from the reforms cover it.

But that would mean a lot of angry drones and they are Rendell’s constituency.

Marple Newtown $65 Million High School Project

Marple Newtown’s $65 million high school renovation project is going to start in earnest next summer. It iwill  include a new 28,500-square foot cafeteria,
7,700-square foot performing arts area and 3,300-square foot,
six-classroom addition, and  62-space parking lot next to the
tennis courts.

That would come to about $5,000 per household in the district — albeit taxes from commercial properties will lesson the pain a slight tad.The district spends about $65 million annually too.

 

Marple Newtown $65 Million High School Project

Marple Newtown $65 Million High School Project