BCT Editorial – 2/15/07

This page was last updated on February 21, 2007.

Go slowly; Editorial; Beaver County Times; February 15, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“When it comes to eliminating school district property taxes, be careful. You just might get what you wish for - and regret it.

“No matter how you feel about property taxes, they do have two advantages over other forms of taxation: They are consistent sources of revenue, and they are under local control.

“There’s no way around it. If property taxes are eliminated and statewide sales and/or income taxes are used to offset the loss of revenue, Harrisburg is going to want to call the shots.”

[RWC] Earth to the Times. Harrisburg and the feds already “call the shots” by virtue of the commonwealth and federal taxpayer dollars funneled to school districts and other local government entities.

“As one expert told Philadelphia Inquirer business columnist Andrew Cassel, a shift from local to statewide sources of revenue means a shift in the state’s political dynamic.

“‘If the money’s coming from Harrisburg, people from Harrisburg are going to expect to have some say in how it’s spent,’ he said.

“Keep that statement in mind whenever you hear someone calling for the elimination of property taxes. If that were to happen, school districts would be at the mercy of lawmakers and bureaucrats in Harrisburg.

“There’s no way around it. If you want local control, property taxes are a necessary evil.”

[RWC] My head may explode. We read editorial after editorial supporting state taxation over local taxation, then every once in a while we get an editorial like this. Regular readers will recognize the Times couldn’t care less about local control.