Irvin Says Support Not There for Broad-Based Taxes on Pennsylvania Residents
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Rich Irvin (R-Huntingdon/Mifflin/Centre) today joined the majority of his colleagues in the House in voting no on the governor’s new tax plan to increase the state’s Personal Income Tax and an additional tax on the natural gas drilling industry to fund his proposal to increase government spending. He issued this statement following the vote:
“Support for higher taxes on the people and businesses in our Commonwealth is just not there. The governor has had two separate proposals cross his desk which shows we can balance the budget and dedicate more funding to education without any increased taxes.
“The Personal Income Tax increase would shrink Pennsylvania workers’ paychecks and make it costlier for small businesses to operate in the Commonwealth.
“An additional tax on the natural gas drilling industry would make Pennsylvania the most expensive state in the nation to drill, which would drive more jobs out of state. This is the opposite of what we want to accomplish. We need more job opportunities in our area, and over-taxing successful industries does not create a favorable business climate.
“Although the governor has proposed property tax relief through these increased taxes, no relief would take place for two years, and even then it would only impact a select segment of the population. Instead of looking for Band-Aid relief to this issue, we need to look at a plan that delivers dollar-for-dollar elimination for everyone.
“Today’s vote clearly shows the governor that he does not have the support for his tax plan. I am hopeful we can now put that mindset aside once and for all and get down to business in agreeing on a final budget that is both prudent and responsible and does not attempt to further tax our citizens.
“It is now October and our schools, human service organizations and county governments are suffering. We need to move forward and resolve the budget impasse so these entities can start receiving their state and federal funding, which is needed in order to continue their operations.”
Representative Rich Irvin
81st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Tricia Lehman
717.772.9840
tlehman@pahousegop.com
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