Oct. 07, 2015
HARRISBURG – Rep. Duane D. Milne (R-Chester County) released the following statement in response to the state House vote to defeat Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest tax increase proposal. The tax package would have increased the state’s Personal Income Tax by 16 percent and hurt the state’s economy with an excessive tax on natural gas drilling:
“I voted against this tax-and-spend plan because it represents a significant tax increase, and the hardest hit would be the middle-class of Pennsylvania. Of the more than $3 billion in new taxes the governor desires to collect, the people who work every day to support their families would foot 95 percent of the bill. A vote for this plan would have been a vote to cut the paychecks of every working Pennsylvanian. It is the wrong thing to do.
“I am open to a reasonable approach to a natural gas tax. However, the governor, disingenuously, has long proclaimed that a severance tax will generate $1 billion for our public schools. However, the proposal he offered today would generate an estimated $389 million over the course of a full year -- a far cry from $1 billion, and that’s assuming that, at 14 percent, what would be the highest effective tax rate in the nation does not drive business, jobs and tax revenue out of our state.
“Pennsylvanians don’t need a bigger, more costly government. We need to focus on helping taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned money by addressing the issues that are really driving up the costs of running our state, such as our skyrocketing pension obligations.
“Now that the governor has proof that there is no appetite in the Legislature for a massive tax hike, I do hope he is now ready to come to the negotiating table and work with the Legislature, the people’s House, to work out a budget that funds the core functions of government and is also fiscally responsible.
Representative Duane D Milne
167th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: District Office
610-251-1070
bvasoli@pahousegop.com
DuaneMilne.com