The Act 72 "Gift"

It looks good at first glance. Property tax relief in exchange for slot machine revenue. The Homeowner Tax Relief Act, also known as Act 72, is not exactly that simple, however - the reason many local school districts are opting out.

Pennsylvania's new proposed law to distribute tax revenue generated from slot machines isn't really a blanket gift. Instead, local school districts are being asked to increase the Earned Income Tax rate by a minimum of 0.1% in order to replace some of the proposed property tax money, with the tax revenue from slot machines making up the rest. If slot machine revenue turns out to be lower than projected, some residents may actually end up paying more in increased income taxes than they will save in property taxes under the new plan. From the school district's point of view, it is more of a dollar-for-dollar shift in revenue than it is an increase. It does, however, at least start to shift more of the burden of financing our children's education back to the state, where it should be.