HARRISBURG -- Another day, another plan for property tax relief at the Capitol.

State Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Bradford Woods, and two House GOP colleagues today proposed raising the state sales tax by 1 percentage point, effective July 1, to raise about $1.4 billion a year to lower school property taxes starting in July 2007.

Their plan comes on top of two previous tax relief plans, one by a House-Senate conference committee and endorsed by Gov. Ed Rendell, and a competing plan announced yesterday by Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann.

The House GOP on May 3 blocked consideration of the conference committee plan, which would use funds from the Lottery Fund and later from slots revenue to lower property taxes, mainly for low-income senior citizens. The House delay angered Mr. Rendell, who is urging the House to act on the conference committee bill when it returns in June.

But Mr. Turzai and his colleagues, Douglas Reichley of Lehigh County and Steve Nichol of York County, claimed their plan would bring property tax relief faster, in greater amounts and benefit more taxpayers than the governor's plan.

The House could vote on the Turzai sales-tax increase proposal in June, but its future in the Senate could be doubtful, because many Democratic senators see a sales tax increase as regressive.