March 2020 File Photo provided by Gov. Wolf
HARRISBURG – Some folks will pay more, others less, under Governor Tom Wolf’s new budget proposal. He is proposing the changes to the state’s tax system as part of his $37.8 billion budget proposal.
In his budget address Wednesday, one of Governor Wolf’s biggest proposed changes is cutting taxes for working class families, “This is about asking folks who have already made it to shoulder a little more of the burden, so that folks who haven’t made it yet have a better chance of doing that. That’s the thing about financial security – most people who have it, had to earn it. If you’re one of those people think back to the early days when you were just starting out. If you could go back in time to give yourself just a little bit more help, wouldn’t you do it?”
Under the plan, households earning under $50,000 would not pay state income tax, and a household of four earning above $50,000 but below $84,000 would see a tax cut. A household of four earning above $84,000 would pay more. The personal income tax rate would also increase from 3.07% – among the nation’s lowest – to 4.49%
The governor is also asking to cut taxes for Pennsylvania businesses by 25%, “No longer will we ask the businesses that power our economy to pay the highest rate in the nation. Not only does my plan lift that burden, it levels the playing field by closing the loophole that lets too many corporations benefit from doing business in our commonwealth without paying their fair share.”
Another big part of the plan would dramatically boost education spending the governor says would fully and fairly fund every school, in every district statewide.
He says the $1.4 billion his administration has already allocated the past five years still isn’t enough, “If your local school system lacks the resources it needs to provide your kids with a quality education, that’s a barrier to giving them a better life. It’s a barrier so big it actually blocks out the sun. Even if you somehow make over that barrier, now there’s a higher mountain to be climbed, and that’s the skyrocketing cost of higher education.”
Overall, the governor’s budget plan is an 11% increase over the state’s spending this year. You can link to the Governor’s budget address here.
