Pa. Lawmakers Once Again Try To Tackle Property Tax Relief

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - State lawmakers are taking another stab at property tax relief. This time, the effort involves an attempt to give local school districts more options to reduce property taxes.

Property tax relief is the Rubik's Cube of the Pennsylvania legislature. A complicated puzzle, it obsesses lawmakers for years at a time, until they give up in exasperation.

After failing to come up with a statewide scheme to eliminate school property taxes in the past, the House Finance Committee Monday passed legislation to give local districts options to shift the property tax burden to earned income and/or business taxes.

Republican Kerry Benninghoff, the committee chairman said, "I think history shows that the statewide approach has not worked."

Phyllis Mundy, the ranking Democrat on the House Finance Committee said, "I restate my objection to the approach that we pass the buck to the local school districts."

But Mundy, acknowledging the intractable nature of the property tax issue, said if that's all that can be done, she favored advancing the discussion.

"So I'm going to be a yes vote for a bill that, again, I think is flawed."