Senator Joe Pittman issued the following statement after Governor Tom Wolf used a pre-taped video address to unveil his proposed $40.2 billion General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22, which includes a $3.1 billion (8.2 percent) increase in state spending, a substantial Personal Income Tax rate hike from 3.07 percent to 4.49 percent (46.3 percent) and the imposition of Marcellus Shale extraction tax.
“That may have been one of the most tone-deaf infomercials that I have ever heard. For the Governor to stand before us behind a TV screen and propose a massive in the PIT and to yet again propose a severance tax on natural gas in this economic time and climate is asinine.
“I found it bitterly ironic that he stands there and talks about the need to invest in public education when his carbon tax will absolutely devastate public education in my (Senate) District. I have school districts that rely on the property tax revenues from power plants to fund their schools. He has a carbon tax that will shut them down overnight and cause those districts to be devastated.
“So, it’s very ironic for him to talk about barriers created in education when it’s not properly funded only for him to literally decimate my public education system. I very much resent that. For him to think that I am going to stand up and promote taxes on working Pennsylvanians when he is trying to unilaterally decimate my economy and my public education system, he’s got another thing coming.”
The Governor wants to increase the state personal income tax (PIT) rate as of July 1 to raise $3 billion annually. About one-third of all Pennsylvanians would see their state tax burden increase under the Governor’s proposed PIT rate hike.
Upwards of one million PA small businesses will have their tax rates increased by 46.3 percent under the Governor’s proposal, since these pass-through businesses (i.e. S corporations, partnerships, etc.) pay business taxes at the PIT rate.
This proposed PIT rate increase coupled with the Governor’s ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and his proposed minimum wage hike would be devastating for many family operations that are already struggling to stay financially solvent.
The Governor is again making his annual push for a Marcellus Shale extraction tax. This proposal would severely impact the gas industry. Pennsylvania saw a $50 million reduction in its impact fee revenue, according to the latest Independent Fiscal Office report.
Contact: Jeremy Dias jdias@pasen.gov