DALLAS, Pa. (AP) — In the summer of 2004, Gov. Ed Rendell and top state lawmakers promoted legalized casino gambling as a way to provide historic relief from burdensome school property taxes.
A decade later, slot-machine revenue has helped restrain the inexorable growth of a tax that homeowners love to hate, and completely eliminated it for thousands of low-income seniors.
But an Associated Press analysis of state Education Department data shows that Pennsylvania casinos haven’t delivered enough tax relief to put a significant dent in most homeowners’ tax bills.
If anything, homeowners are feeling even more of a pinch because taxes continue to go up while the value of the slots-financed tax relief has remained steady.
