Feb. 03, 2021
HARRISBURG ? Rep. Frank Ryan (R-Lebanon) said Gov. Tom Wolf’s 2021-22 budget plan ignores the significance of the Independent Fiscal Office’s (IFO) five-year revenue projections, the state’s risks to growth and proposes to “cure” Pennsylvania’s $2 billion structural deficit with a 46% Personal Income Tax hike on working Pennsylvanians. Despite claims that certain income would be excluded from taxation, the governor’s proposal ignores economic reality and the trends of higher costs related to the needs of seniors, the impact of the pandemic on our citizens, and devastation created by excessive shutdown orders.
“The governor’s budget plan does not address the very real fiscal issues facing our Commonwealth,” said Ryan, noting that the IFO projects a $2 billion structural deficit in each of the next five years. “Instead, the tax hike the governor is proposing would negatively impact working middle-class families and small businesses throughout Pennsylvania while at the same time continuing the trend of not holding government accountable for how it spends the very valuable and substantial tax dollars it already receives.
“The administration’s response to the pandemic has been to shut down the state’s economy. Now it is failing in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine – our greatest hope for getting back to normal. At a time of sustained high unemployment, the administration’s response in disbursing unemployment compensation has also failed working Pennsylvanians.
“Under the guise of reducing the burden on working families, our governor fails to understand that he is discouraging business growth and leading more and more people to depend on government to survive.
“The governor’s plan to increase the Personal Income Tax essentially guarantees that property tax elimination will never happen in Pennsylvania and that our Commonwealth will continue to lose young working people to other states with more favorable tax policies.
“It’s time to cut government spending, safely reopen our economy and limit the governor’s emergency powers that have put thousands of Pennsylvanians out of work and driven businesses to the brink of bankruptcy. Governor, it’s time to solve problems, not create them,” Ryan said.
To see Ryan’s comments following the governor’s budget address, visit here.
Representative Frank Ryan
101st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
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