Pennsylvania property owners have received tax relief for the last two decades as part of the deal that legalized casino-style gambling.
Property owners are slated to receive more than $1 billion in tax relief this fiscal year, a nearly 42% increase over the last 10 years.
But as the pot of cash used to reduce local property tax bills increased, the formula used to determine how those funds are distributed remains stuck in the past.
A TribLive investigation found that property tax relief tied to casino gambling is based on economic and demographic data from 2002.
“The data is old,” conceded a spokesman for the Department of Education, which this year is charged with distributing more than $1 billion to Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts as part of the state’s property tax relief program tied to casino gambling. name?
