Mar. 03, 2015
HARRISBURG – Following the governor’s budget address delivered today to a joint session of the state House and Senate, Rep. Brad Roae (R-Crawford/Erie) said the plan spends too much and would place a heavy burden on Pennsylvania taxpayers.
“The governor believes the way to fix our budget problem is with more taxes,” Roae said. “I believe the budget problem is caused by too much spending.”
The governor’s plan calls for $4.7 billion in new taxes to help pay for the $33.8 billion spending plan. If approved, the new budget would reflect a 16 percent increase compared to the current state budget.
The governor’s budget plan would increase the state Personal Income Tax from 3.07 percent to 3.7 percent, drawing an additional $2.4 million out of the pockets of Pennsylvanians.
The governor also called for a 10 percent increase in the state sales tax, which would raise the rate from 6 percent to 6.6 percent and drain another $1.55 billion out of the wallets of Commonwealth shoppers.
“I was surprised to hear the governor suggest Pennsylvania ranks 45th among all states in school funding,” said Roae.
According to U.S. Census data, Pennsylvania schools spend on average more than $16,000 of local, state and federal revenue per student. The national average is a little more than $12,000.
The state alone provides more than $5,800 in funding, compared to the national average of $5,600.
“Every dollar we spend on schools is another dollar we cannot spend on programs to help senior citizens, volunteer firefighters, Pennsylvania State Police and other initiatives funded by the state budget,” Roae said.
Residents who would like to learn more about Roae can visit his website at
www.RepRoae.com or follow him on Facebook at
www.Facebook.com/RepRoae.
Representative Brad Roae
6th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Dan Massing
717.772.9845
dmassing@pahousegop.com
RepRoae.com /
Facebook.com/RepRoae