Greenleaf Proposal Would Aid Seniors with Remaining Act 72 Revenues 

HARRISBURG –Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf is proposing that income-eligible senior citizens benefit from the anticipated slot machine revenues that will not be utilized by the majority of the state's school districts.

According to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, just 111 out of 501 school districts across the state have voted to participate in the property tax relief plan established under Act 72 of 2004.

"My proposal would direct the remainder of slot machine revenues –left over after the Act 72-participating school districts receive their share-- toward the expansion of the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program," Greenleaf said.  The senator noted that by piggybacking on the Lottery-funded rebate program with the gambling revenues from slots, income eligibility could be expanded and rebates could be significantly increased.

If slots revenues reach the approximately $500 million needed for Act 72 tax relief to take effect for the school districts that have opted in, the remainder would be applied to the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program and income eligibility could be doubled from the current $15,000 per household to $30,000.  Projections indicate that the maximum rebate could increase from the current $500 to $1,200, while the minimum rebate would be $180.  The rebates would be distributed based on a sliding scale of income.  Eligibility requirements—except for income-- would be the same as for the current Lottery-funded rebate program—citizens 65 or older; widows and widowers 50 and older; and permanently disabled individuals between the ages of 18 and 65.

Greenleaf said that, depending on the amount of slots revenues, he would like also to implement a property tax freeze for citizens 65 and older with a household income of $40,000 or less.  He noted that he has introduced legislation capping senior property taxes for several sessions.  This session, the Greenleaf property tax freeze measure is Senate Bill 72—not to be confused with Act 72 of 2004. .  It is estimated that the freeze proposed under Senate Bill 72 would benefit more than 900,000 older homeowners and cost school districts about $70 million.

"Money from Act 72 could be directed at reimbursing the school districts for the loss of local tax dollars occasioned by capping property taxes on the homesteads of income-eligible senior citizens," Greenleaf said  "Senior citizens on modest, fixed incomes have been at the crux of property tax relief efforts for as long as the Legislature has been discussing property tax reform.  The revenues that remain after the opted-in school districts receive their share of the Act 72 funding present an opportunity to provide relief to older Pennsylvanians," Greenleaf said.

The senator noted that, under his expansion plan for the rebate program, older citizens who rent would also benefit, as well as permanently disabled individuals.

"This program has been operating successfully for many years, so my proposal would not require many new administrative costs," Greenleaf said.  During 2003, the Property Tax /Rent Rebate program served 331,095 claimants.  Under Greenleaf's proposal, more than one million citizens would be eligible to participate.