Republicans and Democrats in Harrisburg don’t seem all that far apart in their proposals for property tax relief.

The state House could get the GOP proposal as early as this week. Its sponsor, Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York County, says it would provide a straightforward shift of nearly $5 billion to slash local tax bills.

Saylor proposes increasing the state personal income and sales taxes, and kicking in $600 million in expected gaming revenue, to provide the nearly $5 billion in state taxpayer-financed relief from rising property taxes in the state’s 500 school districts.

His bill is the counterproposal to a $4.2 billion plan proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf, which entails an identical increase in the income tax — from 3.07 percent to 3.7 percent — while tapping the casino money for most of the remaining revenue.

Wolf also proposes an increase in the state sales tax, but the $1 billion or more in anticipated revenue from the sales tax would be part of the property tax initiative, according to Wolf spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan.

Here’s specifically where the two plans differ:

n Saylor’s GOP plan would provide two-tiered tax relief. It would funnel $2.7 billion in income-tax money for school boards to reduce the millage rates on which property taxes for homeowners and businesses are based and $1.6 billion in sales-tax money to expand the “homestead” program that reduces homeowners’ taxes.

n Wolf’s plan would provide extra help for the state’s poorest school districts. It also would provide tax relief for renters.

Several Democrats have criticized the Republican proposal because it ignores the special needs of Philadelphia, the state’s largest city. Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, noted the bill will boost the city’s 8-percent sales tax to 9 percent when it’s already two percentage points above the rate charged in most other parts of the state.

Saylor says he’s confident such inequities can work themselves out.

That’s not a far-fetched statement, particularly considering that the two caucuses are not that far apart.

A compromise seems plausible, at least in the House.

In the Senate, the Republicans’ focus on pension reform is resolute. The GOP caucus hasn’t even taken a stand on property tax reform.

“Property tax reform is a complicated issue with many different proposals to consider,” says caucus spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher. “Pensions do remain the top priority for the Senate.”

Maybe the most difficult part of property tax is implementing it, and the least difficult part is repealing it. And this seems like an opportunity for a legislative ice-breaker — one that could serve as a springboard for significant pension reform.

Legislators should be encourage to work hard on a deal we can all accept — a deal that will benefit property owners as well as school districts.

Let’s not squander this opportunity.