If you're wondering who got to the Democrats in the Pennsylvania House last week when Democrats overwhelmingly rejected the Rohrer amendment to eliminate school property taxes in Pennsylvania, take a look at the Pennsylvania Bar Association Web site.
The state's lawyers are particularly pleased that HB 1275 was defeated.
"The PBA Legislative Department would like to thank all the PBA members who took the time to contact their representatives and urge them to oppose the amendment," according to the Web site. "This outcome is a testament to the PBA's collective, sustained and diligent grassroots efforts."
The lawyers objected to HB 1275 because it would expand the state sales tax to include legal fees. For example, if you paid a lawyer $150 to write a letter, you'd have to kick in another $8 in sales tax. Would you rather pay the extra $8 for a one-time service or continue to pay thousands of dollars each year in school property taxes?
How many lawyers are in the House? How many House members will be receiving hefty contributions from lawyers for the reelection campaigns this year?
The Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers is also thanking its members for lobbying lawmakers to reject the elimination of school property taxes. The bankers oppose the measure because the sales tax would have been expanded to some banking services.
"PACB has consistently opposed these attempts believing they would be a new taxation burden on our customers and a huge regulatory/compliance burden on community banks to determine what is taxable and what is not," according to the Web site.
The House is supposed to take up property tax reform again this week, but don't expect much because special interests control your legislator - until April 22 when you decide if your lawmaker gets to keep his or her job.
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