BY JOE SHAHEELI
How about this: A fundamental overhaul of Pennsylvania taxation that splits the state almost down the middle – while being completely bipartisan? You don’t pass this convoy on the turnpike very often.
Eliminating the school property tax is that cause. This method of funding public education, dating to the 1830s, is decried by its foes as archaic and unfair. But many education supporters prefer to stick with the devil they know; after all, property can’t move out of the school district so it is a predictable long-range revenue source.
The issue matters to Philadelphia in particular because of the city’s high poverty rate – around 25%. How does the current property tax impact our poor citizens? Would a different funding system be better or worse for them?
