Oct. 07, 2015
HARRISBURG – Rep. John Taylor (R-Philadelphia) issued the following statement after the state House voted to reject Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest proposal to increase state income taxes:
“The tax proposal that came before the House today included a 16 percent income tax increase that would have hit our hard-working, middle-class families especially hard. Although the proposal also included a severance tax on natural gas drilling, the revenue generated by that tax is minimal, as predicted.
“In fact, of the estimated $1.4 billion in new revenue in the 2015-16 fiscal year, 95 percent of it comes from income taxes on Pennsylvania families and small employers. Just 5 percent would come from a severance tax, even though the governor is proposing one of the highest severance taxes in the nation. A tax on natural gas is simply not going to solve our budget challenges, and it actually could make them worse if the tax is so excessive that it drives the industry out of the state. And if the industry leaves, thousands of tradesmen, including plumbers, boilermakers, pipe fitters and electricians, would find themselves out of work.
“There is no question we need to increase revenue to make ends meet, but today’s plan was not the way to do it. We were being asked to increase taxes on our citizens and small businesses without any indication of how the money was going to be spent. I acknowledge the need for additional revenue, but I am not going to support increasing taxes without knowing that the money is going to be invested in the areas that need it most, such as our schools.
“I am hopeful today’s vote will allow us to move forward in negotiating a budget that works for our schools, human service agencies and taxpayers.”
Repressentative John Taylor
177th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepTaylor.com