Wolf Budget Proposal Hits New ‘Low,’ Says Emrick
HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf wants to expand the sales tax and increase the Personal Income Tax as part of his proposal for the 2016-17 fiscal year.
The governor’s 15 new proposed tax increases include his desire to raise the Personal Income Tax by 11 percent for 2016-17 and make it retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year. He also wants to expand the sales tax to include basic cable television bills and movie theater ticket purchases, as well as increase the cigarette tax by $1 per pack as part of a plan to increase taxes on working Pennsylvanians and employers by $3.6 billion. Spending under Wolf’s proposal would increase by 10 percent, or $3 billion, to $33.3 billion.
State Rep. Joe Emrick (R-Northampton) issued the following statement in response to the governor’s proposal:
“The date has changed but the story remains the same – Gov. Tom Wolf continues to believe the answer to our problem lies in the wallet of the Pennsylvania taxpayer. He is again pushing for tax increases that don’t have sufficient votes on both sides of the aisle in the General Assembly, and lack support in our communities. His one new idea - a retroactive Personal Income Tax increase! This reaches a new low in fiscal irresponsibility by attempting to impact wages hard-working taxpayers have already earned.
“I challenge the governor to go door-to-door in my district and see how citizens will react to his proposed tax increases. He’d get a realistic lesson in the struggles of the hard-working taxpayer.”
Questions about this or any legislative issue should be directed to Emrick’s district office at (570) 897-0401 or (610) 746-5090.
Representative Joe Emrick
137th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com
RepEmrick.com / Facebook.com/RepEmrick