Tax scam

To the editor:

Well, I see Gov. Ed Rendell is at it again, playing his numbers game with the Pennsylvania taxpayers. He thinks that we taxpayers never went to school for arithmetic, at least not the same school he attended.

According to his facts, he will raise the sales tax to 7 percent for 65 out of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, but raise Allegheny and Philadelphia counties' sales tax to 8 percent. Then he wants the oil companies to pay more taxes, which in turn will be passed on to us in the form of higher gas prices.

Then with the extra money the state will receive from those tax boosts, he will give it back to us in the form of property tax relief. Does this make sense to you?

Gov. Rendell claims that this will give us our tax rebate a year early, but when we catch up with the gambling revenue in the following years, will he then lower our sales taxes to the previous 6 percent or 7 percent? You've got to be kidding yourself if you believe that.

And all this for what? A $170 to $190 tax rebate for the average Pennsylvanian? Please don't insult us, Gov. Rendell; we are much smarter than you take us for. And wasn't most of the gambling revenue supposed to be earmarked for lowering our property taxes? Then why is everyone trying to get a piece of the tax pie?

For all of you who believe this garbage and are being duped by Gov. Rendell, remember the old quote: "There's a sucker born every minute."

Jim Hirsh Bethel Park