Taxpayer Protection Act Long Overdue

Member Group : Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania

Taxpayer Protection Act is Long Overdue

February 25, 2015:

Pennsylvania taxpayers now face the 10th highest state and local tax burden in the country in order to pay for the unencumbered spending growth. Unlike thirty other states, there are no restrictions on how much the Pennsylvania state spending can grow from year to year and taxpayers have paid a hefty price.

According to the Commonwealth Foundation, if Pennsylvania had a Taxpayer Protection Act in place it would have meant $28.7 billion less in spending over the past decade.

On Monday, Senators Camera Bartolotta and Mike Folmer introduced the Taxpayer
Protection Act.

It is also worth noting that the Senators were flanked by leadership of the House and Senate. Leadership’s interest in this issue comes at a perfect time. Rumor has it that Governor Wolf is going to propose a $10 billion tax hike to pay for his public policy wish list.

Instead of enacting reforms that would unleash private sector job growth, it sounds like Wolf is going to pursue the same types of failed centrally planned economic policies foisted on the people by Washington, DC. Rather than pursue reforms, like eliminating prevailing wage requirements and immediately reducing the cost of government construction projects or privatizing the state liquor monopoly, Governor Wolf appears to be content with making Pennsylvania less competitive.

The Governor thinks Pennsylvania has a "self-esteem problem. Anyone who has taken the time to talk to job creators and entrepreneurs, at least the ones not reliant on government contracts will tell you that the problem is our hostile labor, regulatory and tax environment. Instead of calling for $10 billion in new taxes the governor might as well propose giving a unicorn to every
Pennsylvanian; it would be equally unrealistic and would hurt the economy less.

Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania (CAP) is a non-profit organization founded to
raise the standard of living of all Pennsylvanians by restoring limited government, economic freedom, and personal responsibility. By empowering the Commonwealth’s employers and taxpayers to break state government’s "Iron Triangle" of career politicians, bureaucrats, and Big Government lobbyists, this restoration will occur and Pennsylvania will prosper.