Slot machines ring up tax reductions

Dan Hardy

May 2, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Property tax relief in the suburbs and wage tax relief in Philadelphia provided by slots revenue will be close to what they were last year, according to figures provided yesterday by the state.

This is the second year that gaming revenues reached the threshold for use for tax relief under Act 1, passed by the legislature in 2006.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, the tax relief this year totals about $139 million, about $169,000 less than last year. Individual property owners in Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties will get anywhere from $641 to $73 in school tax reductions; figures for homeowners in Bucks County were not made available yesterday.

Philadelphia gets its tax relief under Act 1 in the form of wage tax reductions. City residents and suburbanites who work in the city will get about $86.3 million in wage tax reductions this year, just about the same as the $86.5 million that came to Philadelphia in 2008.

The property tax and wage tax relief is not given directly to individuals or households. In the suburbs it is entered as a credit on tax bills; in the city, it is used to lower the wage tax percentage. Property owners must register to get the benefit; sign-up information is available at local school districts.

Statewide, property owners outside Philadelphia and Scranton will get about $527 million in tax relief this year, close to $600,000 more than in 2008. Scranton can use half of its allocation for wage tax relief. In many cases, individual homeowners will get less relief than last year, because the money is being divided up among more homeowners, as more have registered since then for the tax relief program.

The amount of relief going to school districts is weighted according to their tax burden and wealth, so poorer ones get more. Homeowners in Delaware County's impoverished Chester Upland district will get $641, while those in in Montgomery County's wealthy Upper Merion district will get $73.

Chester Upland property owners will get $18 more per household this year, while Jenkintown homeowners will get $67 less.

Part of the state's share of the gaming money also goes to increase the amount that seniors get under the state's property tax and rent rebate program. The combined total for the two programs statewide will be $770 million.

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Property tax reductions for each school district are listed at http://go.philly.com/districts.

Contact staff writer Dan Hardy at 610-627-2649 or at dhardy@phillynews.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0160-34604571