Pennsylvania Liberty Alliance

2 months ago

We had a great day in Reading Saturday, canvassing for PTE and our candidiate Annette Baker who's running against Lying Judy Schwank! We hit 100's of homes and gained scores of petitions to END SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX through our constitutional amendment introduced by Senator John Disanto. Join us this coming Saturday...see our event page! We're helping John DiSanto get re-elected just like 4 years ago when he/we defeated Rob "us blind" Teplitz ... See MoreSee Less

Pennsylvania Liberty Alliance

2 months ago

Let's Pass the Constitutional Amendment to Eliminate School Property Taxes | SIGN HERE & SHARE: palibertyalliance.org/index.php/pass-the-constitutional-amendment-to-eliminate-property-taxes/ ... See MoreSee Less

Pennsylvania Liberty Alliance

2 months ago

In 2016, then candidate John DiSanto defeated incumbent Rob Teplitz in a race where polling data showed the opposite result was likely to happen. It's widely understood that the issue of property taxes is what decided that race.

The Pennsylvania Liberty Alliance spent a lot of time and resources educating residents of the PA-15th district prior to that election. After learning that John DiSanto promised to address the issue, while his opponent continued to make excuses, voters decided to hire John DiSanto to fight for them in the Harrisburg Senate.

Sen. DiSanto has lived up to his word, and has proven himself as an outspoken advocate for school property tax elimination. Now John is again stepping up to the challenge.

After years of inaction on SB 76 and other property tax bills, Sen. DiSanto has decided to issue his own legislation. The last time school property tax elimination came up for a vote was in 2015, when Gov. Wolf's right hand man, Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, cast the deciding “no” vote, effectively stopping the issue in it's tracks for the past five years.

Sen. DiSanto's new legislation would be a Constitutional Amendment, which does not require a signature from Governor Wolf. It would be voted on by the legislature, and then put on the ballot for the general public to decide. Gov. Wolf has also proven to be all talk, and no action on the issue of property taxes.

After decades of false promises made every election cycle by Harrisburg politicians, we need to explore other options for addressing this important issue. We've seen co-sponsors who tell their constituents they support school property tax elimination, only to side with their lobbyist friends and vote “no” when forced to make a choice.

We've seen scores of legislators claim they support the concept, but oppose some small detail in the bill. When those details would be addressed, they would find something else they claimed they didn't like, and would move the goal posts again.

It didn't take long before we knew they were not being truthful. Their "concerns" were fake. They were just delay tactics designed to keep the issue from moving forward. Just talking points given to them by the special interest lobby group opposition.

With Sen. DiSasnto's new bill, these dishonest legislators will have nowhere to hide. His bill would simply make it unconstitutional to use property taxes as a way to fund public education. It would put all of those legislators who claim to support school tax elimination on the record!

For over a decade, supporters of SB 76 have reached out to legislators in both parties, and we've found viable options that were thoroughly vetted. Harrisburg politicians have used our willingness to find a responsible alternative against us. Rather than working with us in good faith, they've continued to move the goal posts and lie to their constituents, knowing all along that they would never support anything we came up with.

But they wanted to keep that fact hidden from their constituents. Now it's time for these politicians to go on record, and answer one simple question..."do you, or do you not, support School Property Tax Elimination?"

We've done our part. We've voiced our opinions on this issue time and time again. We've come up with sensible, bi-partisan options. We've spent thousands upon thousands of man hours writing bills, changing bills, meeting with legislators, meeting with lobbyists, knocking on doors, and speaking at town hall meetings across the state. We've played by their “rules”.

Because our work continues to be ignored by some legislators who keep telling us they support school property tax elimination, we support Sen. DiSanto's decision to offer a bill that boils this issue down to it's most basic form.

It's time to put up or shut up. It's time for Harrisburg politicians who talk a big game to prove their sincerity. It's time to answer the basic question....”Do you support School Property Tax Elimination? Yes or No?”

We thank Senator John DiSanto for his continued support, and for continuing to fight for an issue that is a top concern for his constituents, as well as Pennsylvania residents across the state. We also thank the other legislators who continue to fight in good faith!

Ron Boltz
PA Liberty Alliance

PA LIBERTY ALLIANCE AND FRIENDS HELPED TO ELECT JOHN DISANTO IN ORDER TO SUPPORT PTE. NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PUSH THIS ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. TIME IS SHORT. PLEASE GO TO PALIBERTYALLIANCE.ORG TO DONATE ONLINE OR MAIL TO:
PO BOX 98, BETHEL PA 19507 ... See MoreSee Less

Pennsylvania Liberty Alliance

3 months ago

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT WE WERE FINISHED...LET'S BYPASS THE GOVERNOR ON PROPERTY TAX ELIMINATION!
For Immediate Release
September 14, 2020

DiSanto Proposes Constitutional Amendment to Eliminate School Property Taxes
HARRISBURG—Senator John DiSanto (Dauphin/Perry) has introduced a proposal that would allow Pennsylvania residents to vote directly on the elimination of school property taxes through an amendment to the state constitution.
DiSanto said, “Constituents in my district and across the entire Commonwealth are suffering greatly under the weight of constantly increasing school property taxes. The status quo is unacceptable, and voter approval of this constitutional amendment would force the General Assembly to address this issue once and for all. Powerful and entrenched special interests opposing reform would no longer be able to block needed action.”
For decades, relief measures such as school property tax referendums and casino gaming have fallen short of expectations and have done little to ease the burden of Pennsylvania homeowners—especially our seniors living on fixed-incomes.
As recently as 2017, Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment expanding the homestead exclusion to 100 percent of a home’s assessed value, yet three more years have passed with no meaningful property tax reforms.
DiSanto said, “I continue to advocate for and support the bipartisan Property Tax Independence Act, introduced as Senate Bill 76, but it has been nearly five years since this measure was last considered on the floor of the Senate, when it was defeated by just one vote. The Governor has expressed his opposition. It’s past time to allow the people of Pennsylvania directly to decide the future of school property tax elimination.”
Much like the Property Tax Independence Act, this constitutional amendment would have the General Assembly replace school property tax revenues with a combination of state and local sales and income taxes. DiSanto’s proposal would guarantee that our local school districts receive the same amount of revenue as they did from the property tax, so education funding would be more equitable for taxpayers while ensuring school needs are met.
PA LIBERTY ALLIANCE AND FRIENDS HELPED TO ELECT JOHN DISANTO IN ORDER TO SUPPORT PTE. NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PUSH THIS ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. TIME IS SHORT. PLEASE GO TO PALIBERTYALLIANCE.ORG TO DONATE OR MAIL TO:
PO BOX 98, BETHEL PA 19507 ... See MoreSee Less