Get our newsletters
Letters to the Herald

State lawmakers should update tax rebate program

Posted

According to investigative reporting by SpotlightPA on the Tax Rebate Program, in the past decade Pa. state lawmakers introduced 24 Bills, six during this current legislative session.
None of these were enacted.
These bills were specific to updating the income requirement for Pennsylvanians to qualify for The Property Tax/Rent program which gives certain homeowners and renters a partial refund on rent or property taxes. The program serves those who are aged 65 or older or disabled.
By not updating the income requirement at the state level to match the automatic cost of living increases in Social Security payments at the federal level, over the past decade, 25% fewer households (160,000) are not getting the help they need to stay in their homes because their income is deemed too high.
Additionally, any increase in Social Security income is offset by the rising cost of Medicare premiums further impacting available income for necessities like food and gas.
Because of state lawmakers’ incompetence to enact quality-of-life legislation, seniors and the disabled are losing their ability to pay rent, buy groceries, and remain in their own home. This is not the way Harrisburg should work and is certainly not representative of needs.

Funding for this important program is just another game of chance for Harrisburg … literally. The state relies on funds from the PA Lottery to support it. This budget year our legislators managed to kick the can down the road yet again because of a one-time infusion of federal pandemic money.
Our seniors and disabled individuals cannot endure even one more year of this endless in-fighting.
We just need them to raise the income level requirement to match inflation and allocate revenue annually to cover the costs of this quality-of-life Program.
You can contact your legislators today or address it at the ballot box on Nov. 8. Doing nothing is not an option.
Jim Miller; District 145 Candidate, Pa. House of Representatives


Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.


X