Gambling Revenue Nets "Out of Whack" Tax Relief

Casino gambling revenue was supposed to be a boon for homeowners, but people living in the Chartiers Valley School District rolled snake eyes this year.

Chartiers Valley homeowners will receive only $102 for property tax relief from the state, which is the second lowest in Allegheny County.

The state Department of Education this week released the amount of rebates each homeowner will from the previous year’s casino gambling revenue. In comparison, Upper St. Clair will receive $235, Mt. Lebanon will get $185 and South Fayette will garner $165.

Each school district in Pennsylvania receives a certain slice of the revenue pie, which is determined by the number of students, population of the district, wealth and local taxes collected. But the biggest denominator is the amount of people who enrolled in the homestead exemption program that allows them to collect the tax relief.

“The more that participate, it does bring it down,” said Tim Eller, press secretary for the Department of Education. “The total allocation to the school districts are all over the place and the allocation to the homeowner is all over the place.”

The problem with Chartiers Valley is the amount of people – nearly 9,000 homeowners – who applied for the rebate through the county. Eller said his department is noticing the discrepancies and may push the state Legislature to make changes to the law.

“I know the administration and secretary are still focused on property taxes,” Eller said. “I don’t know specifics, but I do know it is a concern of the administration. I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s off the radar.”

State Rep. Nick Kotik, D-Robinson, said nothing is being considered at this moment, but he did notice that the numbers “did seem a little out of whack about who is getting what.” He said state officials might begin looking into the issue if it is clear there is a problem.

“There have been a lot of people who have expressed that everyone should be getting the same because it’s not coming out of tax dollars,” Kotik said. “It’s something worth looking into.”

Go to the Department of Education’s website to view the entire listing.