HARRISBURG, Pa. – Governor Tom Wolf is putting forth one of the biggest budget proposals of his tenure, centered on making well over $1 billion in new investment in schools.
“High quality education is the ticket to greater opportunity for our children,” the governor said in pre-recorded remarks.
However, in order to fund that, Wolf wants to raise the personal income tax from around 3% to about 4.5%, the state’s largest increase ever.
Republican State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie says now is not the time.
“That affects individuals and small businesses, again, those are the prime people that are struggling right now,” Mackenzie said.
Currently the personal income tax is a flat-rate tax. The budget proposal would make it a tiered tax based on income and expand tax exemptions.
Democratic State Rep. Peter Schweyer, a member of the appropriations committee, says the proposal would actually decrease taxes on the poor and have no effect on seniors.
“It is unfair to call this a straight up tax increase because it really is a shift to a more fair and equitable taxing strategy,” Schweyer said.
The governor also renewed his call for a shale tax and legalizing marijuana, both of which are a non-starter with Republicans.
“States that have done it early, they do have some reservations about the way that it was implemented,” Mackenzie said. “They have issues on driving while being impaired, employment situations, legal situations. Lots of things that weren’t considered.”
Mackenzie says more funds could come from the other special funds that are separate from the budget: “Those funds are over-funded by billions of dollars and so what we’ve been calling for for the last couple of years is that that money is redirected to the general fund.”
Schweyer says that’s a one-time fix that wouldn’t get to the heart of the issue. “We can only go to those wells so many times before we just simply run out of money.”
Now, negotiations begin. With split control in Harrisburg, it’s unlikely either side will get everything they want.
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