HARRISBURG -- During that miserable debate over tax-shifting in 1989, Gov. Robert Casey's staff failed to convey one key component that people wanted to know. How will it affect me? Critics constantly harped on it. Casey's staff failed to answer the question. At one point they came up with taxpayer "models" through the then-Department of Community Affairs. They were useless. Seemingly out of desperation at one point, the Casey camp claimed that three out of four Pennsylvanians would benefit - a claim that remained unsubstantiated. Casey proposed local income and sales taxes to shift away from property taxes and to eliminate local nuisance taxes. The plan required an amendment to the state Constitution to allow residential property to be taxed at a rate different than commercial property. Pennsylvania voters rejected it by a 3-1 ratio. It was viewed by many as a tax increase. Seniors didn't like it. And it was too complex for most voters to comprehend.. Now, Gov. Ed Rendell has a plan that is part tax-shifting, part tax increase. He says it is needed to propel Pennsylvania's public schools and work force into the 21st century and boost the economy. Rendell proposes raising the state income tax and legalizing slot machines at tracks to provide school property tax cuts that he says would average 30 percent statewide. The Rendell plan does not amend the state Constitution. Legislative approval would put it into effect. The debate over Casey's tax plan took place pretty much in the pre-personal computer era. There were computers, of course, but most homes didn't have them and few were on-line. Rendell, to his credit, took advantage of today's technology to place a virtual calculator on his Web site ( www.planforanewpa.com ) It gives you an estimate of whether you will pay more or less under his plan. Are you a winner or loser• Go to the site and check it out. It's a gutsy move by Rendell since the net tax bill (more income tax hike than tax cut) increases in so many school districts. A recent House GOP analysis showed only 34 House districts of 203 statewide had net decreases based on the aggregate numbers for their school districts. One Republican staffer remarked that if enough people plug their own numbers into the Web site's calculator, that alone would defeat the plan. Obviously for some people that would not be the sole determination. Rendell vehemently insists that the value of the plan can't accurately be measured in net dollars paid out. The long-term effect is so important that even if you pay more you are still a winner, according to Rendell. The plan would provide preschool in poorer school districts, full-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes. There's also an economic development component that Rendell says will jump-start the economy. Some critics would say the economy is largely driven nationally, it's cyclical, and handing out billions for local projects is wasteful on top of billions already wasted on economic development. Rendell chided the press recently for focusing on winners and losers. Sorry there, governor. Pocketbook impact is what people want to know first on a tax issue. In fairness, Rendell's Web site doesn't just show whether taxpayers pay more or less. With those numbers, comes the total amount that would go to your school district and how much more would be spent per student. One curious aspect to the Rendell Web site -- if you will pay less under the plan, that amount is provided in an annual dollar figure, say $300. But if you pay more under the plan, the net figure is provided only in cents per day (say 82 cents.) Rendell press secretary Kate Philips says the cents-per-day figure is used for "perspective" on how little one pays compared to everything they get in benefits to their schools. Asked why, if he doesn't like winner/loser analysis, that he put the calculator on his Web page, Rendell said it was "only in response to (the media's) insatiable demands." In fact, Rendell's aides had promised the calculator would be online shortly after Rendell presented his tax plan to the Legislature on March 25. It went up the week of April 14.

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