County Democrats trying to hit Santorum where he doesn't live
2006-09-12
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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rss feedDemocrats on Allegheny County Council plan to offer a resolution tonight calling for heightened scrutiny and potential prosecution of property owners who improperly claim a homestead tax exemption.
Amid a highly charged election campaign, the measure seems calculated to again highlight the fact that U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is a part-time resident of Allegheny County, while he and his family spend most of their time in a home in Virginia.
There is nothing illegal or unethical about the common practice of members of Congress moving their families to Washington for all or part of the year, but the residence spotlight has been a political headache for the Santorum campaign in part because he exploited a similar issue against a Democratic incumbent in his first race for Congress in 1990.
Allegheny County's homestead exemption for real estate taxes, worth about $70 annually, is intended to be used only for a homeowner's primary residence. Mr. Santorum claims the exemption on a home in Penn Hills, although he acknowledges that he and his family spend most of the year in his Leesburg, Va., residence.
An aide to Mr. Santorum said that while the senator claims the homestead exemption, he has made a practice of donating a check for the equivalent amount to the county. His campaign did not immediately shed any light on why he would take the exemption and make the compensatory payment rather than simply not taking the exemption -- a procedure that would have the same net financial result for the senator and the county.
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