Stephens Calls on Governor to Stop Campaigning For New and Higher Taxes and Negotiate the State Budget
HARRISBURG -- Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery) called on Gov. Tom Wolf to end the campaign for higher taxes on Pennsylvanians and return to the negotiation table.
“The governor is placing politics above governing as he continues his campaign for new taxes on diapers, day care, nursing home/assisted living services, college expenses, accounting services, legal services, and financial services, plus higher income taxes on all working Pennsylvanians,” Stephens said.
Stephens made his comments as the governor made his remarks at the Willow Hill Elementary School in Willow Grove.
Wolf’s Washington D.C.-based lobbying team, America Works, has flooded mailboxes throughout Stephens’ district with postcards attacking Stephens for voting against the governor’s tax proposal. The mailers only refer to the governor’s proposed tax on drillers and fail to mention all the other taxes the governor is seeking.
“The truth is the governor’s plan includes massive tax increases and new taxes on virtually every Pennsylvanian,” Stephens said. “When that plan was voted in the House, it was rejected unanimously 0-193 by Democrats and Republicans.”
If the governor’s plan were adopted, its combination of sales tax increase and expansion and hike to the Personal Income Tax would cost taxpayers in the Hatboro-Horsham, North Penn, Upper Dublin and Wissahickon school districts $89 million more in taxes than they would receive in property tax reductions. The total increase in net taxes paid for all of Montgomery and Bucks County’s taxpayers would be $513.4 million after subtracting any property tax relief in the governor’s plan.
“Governor Wolf wants to raise taxes in my district to provide property tax relief elsewhere. His plan would result in a net loss of $89 million per year for taxpayers in just the school districts I represent,” Stephens explained.
While the governor claims his proposed severance tax on shale will go to education, much of the tax is dedicated to new government corporate welfare programs to add to the $700 million in corporate welfare programs already funded.
“The governor says enacting a severance tax is the only way to fairly fund our schools, but under his proposal, most of the tax revenue goes elsewhere, including funding to replace current impact fee distributions, additional state bureaucrats, ‘economic development’ grants and making annual debt payments for massive borrowing to fund ‘alternative’ energy competitors, including solar and wind energy,” Stephens said. “Maybe we should look to trim government handouts before we ask taxpayers for more money.”
Representative Todd Stephens
151st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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