Katherine Ruocco, the Republican candidate for the District 113 state House seat, took to social media to challenge an assertion by her opponent, state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), concerning his votes for property tax freezes.
"In today's FB post, Rep. Hoffman states that he 'knows families are overtaxed. That’s why he’s voted 18 times to freeze property taxes.' "
Katherine Ruocco remains committed to property-tax reform and a balanced budget.
| Contributed photo
Ruocco said that while Hoffman may have voted 18 times for property tax freezes, the only one passed in the House is HB696. It freezes Swansea's property tax, but not other municipalities within the district. Hoffman lives in Swansea. Other municipalities, including Belleville, Collinsville Fairview Heights and Granite City, have not received property-tax freezes because they are considered "home-rule" governments and are not eligible. HB696 could have been written to include all of the homeowners in the district – but it wasn't.
In addition, Ruocco detailed Hoffman's voting record on taxes, noting that Hoffman voted in favor of the unbalanced budget bill in late May that would have raised taxes nearly 50 percent, and in favor of the 2011 Taxpayer Accountability and Budget Stabilization Act, which temporarily raised income taxes by 67 percent.
Ruocco remains committed to property-tax reform and a balanced budget, and she believes in leading by example, as well as ending wasteful spending.
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