Property Tax Elimination Vote Expected Monday, Watch Live Stream Here

UPDATE: Bill Eliminating Property Taxes Rejected In Harrisburg

A vote on eliminating property taxes in Pennsylvania is scheduled Monday in Harrisburg.

Jennifer Kocher, Communications Director for Senate Majority Leader Sen. Jake Corman, confirmed to Patch at noon that a vote was scheduled “at this point.” The Senate was scheduled to convene at 1 p.m.

Click here to watch the Senate live stream.

A Senate vote on the bill, called the Taxpayer Relief Act, was delayed last week due to “minor technical concerns.”

The Taxpayer Relief Act would completely eliminate $14 billion in school property taxes. The revenue would be replaced with higher state sales and income taxes.

According to figures from PA Independent, if the bill passes, personal income tax would go from 3.07 percent to 4.34 percent. State sales and use tax would go from 6 percent to 7 percent. Plus, the number of taxable transactions would increase, PA Independent reports.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s office has not commented on the bill. A spokesperson told the Philadelphia Inquirer the Taxpayer Relief Act is not part of a budget deal between the two parties that was announced earlier this month.

A spokesperson for the House Democrats told the Inquirer he did not believe it would pass the House, where a similar bill was defeated in 2013.

“When we began this bipartisan fight this session to remove the school property tax burden off of property owners, we never said it would be easy. Due to the groundswell of public support and the tireless efforts of thousands of taxpayers advocating for the legislation, we are closer than we have ever been to eliminating school property taxes,” bill sponsors said in a joint statement last week.

Sponsors of the Taxpayer Relief Act include Senators David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks) Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon/Dauphin/York), Mario Scavello (R-Monroe/Northampton), Scott Wagner (R-York), Judy Schwank (D-Berks), John Yudichak (D-Luzerne/Carbon), Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh/Northampton), Andy Dinniman (D-Chester) and John Eichelberger (R-Blair)