Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

Pennsylvania homeowners continue to face rising property taxes.  Seniors on fixed incomes are especially challenged by the issue, particularly those who struggle to pay for food and medications and still be able to afford to keep their homes.  Given this difficult and challenging situation, it is incumbent upon us as concerned public officials to do everything we can to help provide much-needed property tax relief to our citizens.
 
As you will recall, Act 42 of 2017 amended Title 4 (Amusements) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to establish sports betting in this Commonwealth.  My bill would amend this new statute to provide that the net revenues generated from sports betting be utilized to provide property tax relief for our citizens.  As such, the 34% of daily gross sports betting revenue that is currently deposited into the General Fund would instead be deposited into the Property Tax Relief Fund.  Further, the additional 2% local share assessment that sports betting hosts currently pay, which goes to the General Fund and is then distributed to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for grants for projects in the public interest, would remain intact and unchanged.  Gaming was authorized in Pennsylvania with the intent to provide property tax relief for hardworking Pennsylvanians, so expansions to gaming should go toward increasing property tax relief for our constituents.
 
Please join me in seeking to provide additional property tax relief for this Commonwealth’s homeowners.