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For Immediate
Release
7/10/07
Updated 7/11/07
Budget Agreement Includes
None of Governor's Proposed Tax Increases
(HARRISBURG) – Pennsylvania taxpayers have been spared
more than $2.5 billion in tax increases sought by the
Rendell Administration, and furloughed state workers are
returning to work under an agreement reached late Monday on
a 2007-08 state budget, Senate Republicans announced today.
All of Gov. Rendell's seven proposed tax increases were
rejected, including a sales tax hike, an electricity tax, a
payroll tax on job creators, and a tax on trash collection.
In addition, Republicans insisted that more than $300
million in available funds be set aside in the event of
unforeseen fiscal issues in 2007-08.
"We said from the beginning that we are not going to
allow the governor to increase the tax burden on
Pennsylvania families," said Senate President Pro Tempore
Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson). "It took a little longer than we
wanted, but we finally convinced the administration that we
would not back down on that core principle."
The $27.178 billion spending plan represents a modest
3.3% increase over the final 2006-07 budget. In addition,
$317.5 million of funding for mass transit was moved into a
dedicated fund. If you include this amount in the spending
level, the total is $27.495 billion, which represents a
growth rate of 4.5% over the final 2006-07 budget.
"We have made a good start on controlling state spending,
and it is clear that we have more work to do next year,"
said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Gib Armstrong.
"Pennsylvania taxpayers could no longer afford the excessive
rate of growth in state spending that we have seen in recent
years."
While the administration sought to link passage of the
budget to the approval of Gov. Rendell's energy legislative
package, Republicans successfully argued that the issues
should be considered separately.
"There are ideas for crafting a sound energy policy on
both sides of the aisle, but using the budget deadline and
the jobs of state employees to force legislation through the
General Assembly is not appropriate," said Senate Majority
Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware). "We will now work to
address this important issue in a more thoughtful way."
Sen. Armstrong also said the governor could have avoided
the impasse without furloughing state employees and
disrupting government operation.
"We informed the governor early on that we would not
agree to any new taxes and we would not support a spending
level that would lead to tax hikes next year," he said. "In
the end, our pro-taxpayer position prevailed."
Work is now underway to draft the final budget document
and addressing other pending issues, which will take several
days.
CONTACT: Tim Nyquist, 717-787-7084; Erik Arneson,
717-787-4712; Dave Atkinson, 717-787-6535
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