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Letter to the Editor: Fact-check Donald Trump’s assertions before repeating them

Wyoming Seminary Lower School to hold open house

<p>There are a number of <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/opinion/letters/528464/letter-to-the-editor-total-elimination-of-pennsylvanias-school-property-taxes-a-foolhardy-fantasy" target="_blank">letters</a> being sent to the newspapers from Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs President Julius Green opposing House Bill/Senate Bill 76, noting that total elimination of school property taxes is a foolhardy fantasy.</p><p>It is apparent that Mr. Green&#8217;s concern is his company and not the concerns of the thousands of homeowners who lose their homes each year by the increasing of school property taxes, which they cannot afford to pay because they have limited incomes or fall on hard times due to the loss of jobs or illness.</p><p>Doing a little research tells the story of the author of this line of trash. He is a wealthy lawyer, a certified public accountant in a Philadelphia firm and president of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, an organization that opposes HB/SB 76 for school property tax elimination presumably because it imposes a sales tax on CPA services. </p><p>He claims that homeowners would continue to pay school property taxes. That&#8217;s true, except that he fails to mention that the tax would be limited to only the amount necessary to service outstanding debt: typically about 10 percent of a homeowner&#8217;s current property tax bill until the debt is retired. A 90 percent reduction in property taxes is a far cry from what he infers with his statement. But the whole truth wouldn&#8217;t serve his purpose of trying to discredit HB/SB 76 and frighten homeowners. </p><p>He also claims that the legislation will result in a $1 billion deficit. This is another blatant falsehood. HB/SB 76 was designed to slow the growth of education taxation to the rate of inflation rather than continuing the current rate of three times inflation. The $1 billion is cost savings, not his alleged deficit. For the truth of this, please visit www.ptcc.us.</p><p><strong>Charles Urban</strong></p><p>President</p><p>Luzerne County Property Owners</p><p>Kingston</p><style>
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Letter to the Editor: CPA’s objection to property tax reform rooted in self-interest