About: Property Tax Reform-plank-Swann

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HARRISBURG - A major element of Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann's tax-fighting agenda - a cap on property taxes - would violate the Pennsylvania Constitution, several tax experts said yesterday. In a Tuesday speech at a Camp Hill luncheon sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Retired Employees, Swann promised to cap property taxes in a way that ensures that the taxes of individual homeowners do not change as long as they own their property, his campaign confirmed. "To do this, Mr. Swann is going to have to amend the constitution," Louis said. "Good luck to him."

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rdfs:label	Property Tax Reform-plank-Swann
rdfs:comment	HARRISBURG - A major element of Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann's tax-fighting agenda - a cap on property taxes - would violate the Pennsylvania Constitution, several tax experts said yesterday. In a Tuesday speech at a Camp Hill luncheon sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Retired Employees, Swann promised to cap property taxes in a way that ensures that the taxes of individual homeowners do not change as long as they own their property, his campaign confirmed. "To do this, Mr. Swann is going to have to amend the constitution," Louis said. "Good luck to him."
dcterms:subject	Planks from elsewhere Finance
abstract	HARRISBURG - A major element of Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann's tax-fighting agenda - a cap on property taxes - would violate the Pennsylvania Constitution, several tax experts said yesterday. In a Tuesday speech at a Camp Hill luncheon sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Retired Employees, Swann promised to cap property taxes in a way that ensures that the taxes of individual homeowners do not change as long as they own their property, his campaign confirmed. Swann campaign spokesman Lenny Alcivar said yesterday that Swann also would advocate an overhaul of the property-assessment system with "a more efficient and predictable" method when he presents his complete plan at a still-to-be-announced date in May. However, two tax lawyers and another expert interviewed separately said the proposal would violate a provision in the state constitution that says: "All taxes shall be uniform, upon the same class of subjects, within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax." "It clearly violates the uniformity provision of the state constitution," said Bob Louis, a tax lawyer with Saul Ewing in Philadelphia. "To do this, Mr. Swann is going to have to amend the constitution," Louis said. "Good luck to him." Doug Hill, executive director of the Pennsylvania County Commissioners Association, which advocates for the state's 67 county governments on tax issues before the legislature, agreed that such a proposal would be unconstitutional. Amending the constitution is a time-consuming process that requires approval in two separate, two-year sessions of the legislature, followed by voter ratification in a statewide referendum. A lawyer who works for Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R., Blair), an early Swann supporter, said the former football star's proposal is not necessarily dead on arrival. J. Andrew Crompton, Jubelirer's counsel, speculated that it may be possible to insulate homeowners from tax increases without violating the constitution through changes in the assessment system. Also, a constitutional amendment voters approved in 1997 to make possible the "homestead exemptions" that are available in some school districts introduced the concept of a limited differential in tax rates levied on residential taxpayers and businesses, he said. "There is leeway there. There is opportunity there. Perhaps they want to amend the constitution. I don't know," Crompton said.

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