Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed a 46 percent state income tax increase, a move state Rep. Frank Burns (D-Cambria) said cannot be justified.
Under the proposed increase, residents would see their tax rates rise from 3.07 percent to 4.49 percent.
“The governor should yank this bad idea from the negotiating table as quickly as a dentist would pull out a horribly infected tooth,” Burns said. “The only reason to lobby for more taxes at this point is to grow state government in perpetuity, which is why I’m also calling for a moratorium on creating new programs with this federal money.”
Pennsylvania will soon receive $7.3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds. This is approximately three times the state’s $2.5 billion projected budget deficit. This funding makes the tax hike unnecessary, Burns says.
Burns is concerned lawmakers in Harrisburg will want to use the relief funds as seed money to start or expand pet projects and programs.
“A third-grader could do the basic math: subtracting a budget deficit of $2.5 billion from $7.3 billion still leaves you with $4.8 billion,” Burns said. “An additional $3 billion from a higher income tax becomes play money at that point – and trust me, we don’t want to shower that on Harrisburg.”