This bill, the County and Municipal Property Tax Relief Act, authorizes all counties except Philadelphia and Allegheny to raise the sales tax by 1% within the boundaries of the county.  At times, the media has referred to this plan as the "county optional sales tax."  In its current form, half of the monies raised via the 1% would be distributed to school districts within the county to reduce or maintain the reduction of school district property taxes.  The other half of the monies would be split with 50% going to the county and the rest being distributed among the municipalities in the county.

Earlier versions of this bill included a provision to establish a shared services fund with some of the revenues.  10,000 Friends was supportive of this proposal as a way to fund projects leading to increased municipal cooperation.  While we were disappointed to see this element dropped from the bill, HB 1858 may still be beneficial to Pennsylvania communities.  Municipalities in Pennsylvania today rely heavily on property taxes to fund government services.  This bill would provide municipalities with another funding option as they continue to struggle to manage their budgets.