HARRISBURG -- A group of conservative House lawmakers unveiled legislation Tuesday to eliminate school property taxes and generate replacement revenue by removing billions of dollars worth of state sales tax exemptions.

The comprehensive proposal would reduce Pennsylvania's sales tax from 6 percent to 4 percent, but declare basic consumer purchases like food and clothing as taxable items for the first time.

The bill drafters, Reps. Samuel Rohrer, R-Berks; Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre; and Mario Scavello, R-Monroe, touted the proposal as giving consumers power to decide how they will be taxed through their spending habits and helping to make Pennsylvania more competitive with neighboring states.

The proposal is billed as an alternative to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to cut residential school property taxes statewide by an average 30 percent and launch new education programs while drawing replacement revenue by hiking the state income tax and several other taxes and legalizing slot machines at racetracks.

School property taxes generate more than $7 billion in revenue annually for public education.

The caucus proposal would make up more than half of that revenue loss by ending several big sales tax exemptions on food, currently estimated at costing the state $1.2 billion annually in uncollected revenue; clothing and footwear, $1 billion; home and building repairs and renovations, $1.1 billion; and doctors' office visits, $1 billion. These would be subjected to a 4 percent sales tax rate under the proposal.

Many other commodities and services, including firewood sales, dry cleaning, and sales of water, would be subject to a 4 percent sales tax rate under the proposal.

The proposal keeps just a handful of sales tax exemptions, including one on prescription drugs, estimated to cost $500 million in lost revenue.

Scavello predicted that ending Pennsylvania's sales tax exemptions on food and clothing will cause the most debate.

Indeed, a rough calculation shows that levying a 4 percent sales tax on food, personal hygiene products, etc. could cost an average family $180 a year and the average individual $72 a year.

According to the Food Marketing Institute, the average family spends $87 on groceries each week, while the average individual spends $36 a week. The industry trade association says that $49 of every $100 spent on groceries goes for perishable goods.

Despite the continual growth of the fast-food industry, FMI reports that 83 percent of Americans eat at least three home-cooked meals a week.

"The food industry is generally opposed to taxes on food because it is considered a basic necessity of life," said Jennifer Walker, legislative director for the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association.

Bill proponents responded that most Pennsylvanians will accept a tradeoff where they can be rid of school property taxes in return for paying a 4 percent sales tax rate on food and clothing and reduced sales tax rates on big-ticket items like cars and appliances.

Rep. Rod Wilt, Sugar Grove Township, R-17th District, said that a consumer would have to spend up to $50,000 on taxable consumer goods to equal the tax burden of a $2,000 annual school property tax.

Scavello drew attention to Pennsylvania's policy of treating candy and gum as a tax-exempt item, while those purchases are taxed in neighboring New York at 8.5 percent.

The candy and gum exemption costs state coffers an estimated $32 million annually.

Bill proponents say a 4 percent sales tax rate in Pennsylvania would compare favorably with New Jersey's 6 percent sales tax rate, New York's sales tax rate ranging from 4 percent to 8.5 percent and Maryland's 5 percent sales tax.

The Commonwealth Caucus is not the only group looking at the state sales tax.

United Pennsylvanians, a coalition of religious, labor and community leaders, urged lawmakers in February to close corporate tax loopholes and end sales tax exemptions for businesses and industries in order to generate new revenue to head off state spending cuts. But United Pennsylvanians said the food exemption protects middle- and lower-income families.

Robert B. Swift is a correspondent for The Herald.