While making the most of its time waiting for talks on a new state budget to bear fruit, the House of Representatives passed a proposal Wednesday that should please most taxpayers.

Senate Bill 1063 would cut the number of tax collectors in Pennsylvania, but it won't do what you think. The plan may be anti-tax collector, but it is decidedly pro-tax collection, which is fair to taxpayers who pay in full and pay on time.

Sponsored by Sen. Jane Earll, a Republican from Erie, and backed by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and similar groups, the bill would reduce the number of earned income tax collectors from 560 to 69. Each of 65 counties would have one collector and Allegheny County would have four. Philadelphia is not affected because it already has consolidated collection, and the handling of real estate taxes would not change.

The trouble with having so many collectors is that too many tax dollars fall through the cracks. The Pennsylvania Economy League of Southwestern Pennsylvania estimated that $237 million is lost each year due to uneven tax collection, meaning less money for local needs like schools, roads and police. Also, many employers that withhold the tax have to deal with multiple collectors; the bill, passed by the Senate last month, would ease the accounting burden on them.

By leaving a tax collector in each county, the proposal strikes a balance between state uniformity and local autonomy. It is also fair to Pennsylvanians who pay their tax bills by getting others to remit what they owe.

We're glad the House, on a vote of 171-29, followed the Senate in going after the tax man. If the Senate concurs with modest House changes and the governor signs the bill into law, the result will be the same old tax but more dollars for local needs.