Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, has expressed his desire to raise taxes on his wealthier residents as well as the natural gas industry to help fund new investments for education and coronavirus relief in a new budget plan he will be announcing on Wednesday.
This proposal from the government calls for the personal income tax rate to increase from 3.07% to 4.49% marking the first personal income tax spike in nearly 20 years.
The details of the budget followed a statement from Wolf’s office saying 67% of Pennsylvania taxpayers would see no change in their taxes or would receive tax cuts under his plan to lower costs for working-class households while raising billions for education and “workforce development.”
“Now is the time to act boldly to remove the barriers to success Pennsylvania families are facing,” Wolf wrote in a tweet.
The coronavirus pandemic also shined a light on the overwhelming inequities for low-wage workers, minorities, and the disabled. Wolf is directing billions of dollars toward the development of the workforce and “re-employment assistance” for those who lost their jobs during the COVID crisis.
To offset those expenses Wolf’s office confirmed there are proposed new taxes on recreational marijuana and fracking.
According to Wolf’s office, “Families with two children making less than $84,000 will receive a tax cut while a family of four making %50,000 will have their taxes eliminated.”
Another part of his 2021 plan is proposing an increase to Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $12 an hour and eventually $15.
The 2021-2022 budget year is set to begin on July 1.
