Robert Speel is a professor of political science at Penn State University

Many Pennsylvania voters this May will be asked if they want to raise local income taxes by a large margin to replace revenue lost to property tax cuts There is a catch: The property tax cuts will be only for homeowners. Renters won't benefit.

Contrary to what some people believe, renters also pay property taxes in their rent. Landlords calculate the amount of the tax into what they charge tenants each month. But Act 1 savings are unlikely to be passed through to renters.

To replace revenue lost to property tax cuts for homeowners, most working renters would pay hundreds of dollars more each year in income tax.

The changes are basically a way to redistribute the tax burden from older residents who own their homes to younger, often poorer, residents who rent.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 28 percent of all occupied housing units in Pennsylvania were rented. In addition, renters in Pennsylvania tend to be younger than homeowners, with renters having a median age of about 40 and homeowners having a median age in the low 50s.

Why are our political leaders supporting Act 1? It's simple: because older voters and homeowners are more likely to vote than younger voters and renters.

While these political calculations may be correct, the consequences of such policies of discrimination against renters could be disastrous to the state's economic future.

Pennsylvania should be an affordable place to live for older residents, many of whom have worked, lived and contributed to the community for their entire lives.

Yet local governments and the state cannot and should not enact policies that will cause younger residents to leave or never move here.

Younger residents, many of whom might move to Pennsylvania to get new jobs, add to the vitality and tax base of a community. Most of these younger residents will look for rental units when they first arrive and may continue to rent housing for years to follow.

Local governments and the state of Pennsylvania must not discourage such residents from settling here by imposing the discriminatory and unfair tax burdens that Act 1 is designed to produce.