Pa. lawmaker from Greenville criticizes efforts to raise taxes

Estimates show raising the income tax could cost 36,000 Pennsylvania jobs.
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- State Rep. Rod Wilt of Greenville, R-17th, believes Pennsylvanians are already overtaxed and shouldn't be hit with an increase in their state income tax.
He said he voted against a measure that passed the House on Tuesday increasing the state income tax from 2.8 percent to 3.25 percent, imposing a new tax on cell phones and adding "a host of other increases amounting to more than $1 billion in new taxes."
The bill has moved on to the Senate for consideration, he said.
Wilt was critical of what he said were Gov. Ed Rendell's promises to fund Pennsylvania's public schools without raising taxes yet still provide property tax relief.
The bill passed by the House simply shifts the economic burden from one tax to another and doesn't deliver real tax relief to improve Pennsylvania's ability to attract and retain high-quality, family-sustaining jobs, he said. Pennsylvanians are already overtaxed, Wilt said.
Wilt said that 43 states have been able to increase educational funding without imposing tax increases, and Pennsylvania's fiscal situation continues to improve with state revenues coming in higher than expected.
Tax increases delay economic recoveries, Wilt said, pointing out that the Commonwealth Foundation estimates that a personal income tax increase to 3.1 percent could cost 36,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.
The bill going to the Senate would raise that income tax to 3.25 percent Jan. 1 but then reduce it to 3.1 percent on July 1.
House Republican leaders have said the bill is an acceptable compromise with the governor's original tax plans.