State Budget and Taxes

KRC/PBPC Insider News for the Week Ending Oct. 23, 2015

Posted by Anonymous on October 26, 2015 12:19 pm

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State House Majority Leader Dave Reed told Patriot-News/Pennlive.com Editorial Page Editor John Micek last week that the next few weeks will be critical in the ongoing state budget negotiations. Leader Reed said there is bipartisan support for more funding for education and a lot of interest in property tax relief. But there isn’t agreement yet on how these should be achieved. "We want to fix the structural deficit.

Why the Budget Matters: Way No. 4 -- Pre-Kindergarten Funding

Posted by Anonymous on October 22, 2015 4:23 pm

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Pre-K Expansion Would Enhance Educational Opportunity and Economic Growth and Pay for Itself Many Times Over

14,000 more children statewide would gain entrance into pre-kindergarten

KRC/PBPC Insider News for the Week Ending Sept. 4, 2015

Posted by Anonymous on September 8, 2015 11:05 am

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The Associated Press reported that Gov. Wolf is trying a new strategy as the state budget impasse extended into its ninth week – negotiating in private meetings with top Republican leaders instead of in brief but large gatherings with dozens of legislators and their staff. On Sept. 1, Gov. Wolf met at his official residence with Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and House Majority Leader Dave Reed.

IFO Forecasts Lower Property Tax Revenue in Future

Posted by Anonymous on February 6, 2015 5:12 pm

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Act 1 may not be perfect, but it has slowed the growth of school property taxes. Since the passage of Act 1 in 2006, and its revision in 2011, the growth of school property taxes has moderated in Pennsylvania. A newly revised forecast from the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) shows more modest growth in coming years.

Shortsighted Policies Led to Pa.'s Money Woes

Posted by Anonymous on September 16, 2014 4:48 pm

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State Budget and Taxes

Pennsylvania is already short of money and borrowing to pay bills less than three months into a new budget year. And that's after transferring $225 million from other state funds in July.

State officials can't blame a natural disaster, unfortunate accident or month of unexpectedly low tax collections. Instead, the culprit is a built-in imbalance between revenues and expenditures triggered, in large part, by policymaker choices.

Tax revenues continue to nosedive in May. Now $174 million less than last year due to corporate tax cuts. 2014-15 shortfall continues to grow.

Posted by Anonymous on June 5, 2014 11:18 am

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State Budget and Taxes

For the sixth straight month, General Fund revenues fell short of estimate in May, missing the target by $108 million, or 5.5% for the month. The year-to-date revenue deficit grows to $613 million, or 2.3% below estimate (excluding the early transfer of liquor store profits in March). The deficit is now larger than the $581 million the Independent Fiscal Office had forecasted for the fiscal year just one month ago, as tax collections in nearly every category fell short of estimate in May.

1314 Revenue Tracker by Month May 2014

May 2014 Revenues to Estimate

May 2014 Revenues to Prior Year

The Budget Solution We Need

Posted by Marc Stier on September 20, 2017 9:59 am

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State Budget and Taxes

It appears that the Pennsylvania Senate is about to vote to not concur with the recently-passed House bill to fund this year’s budget. That will set the stage for what will certainly be intense negotiations among the four legislative caucuses and Governor Wolf about a compromise bill. We hope these negotiations will be completed quickly, as the state is already delaying payments to the pension funds and Medicaid managed care organizations and the state is getting very close to a credit down grade that will cost hundreds of millions over the next few years.

What the PA Credit Downgrade Means

Posted by Marc Stier on September 20, 2017 7:36 am

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State Budget and Taxes

The decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade Pennsylvania’s credit rating should come as no surprise. There was ample warning by S&P and other credit agencies, as well as by political observers including us at PBPC, that this would be the result of the continuing failure of Republicans in the General Assembly, and especially Speaker Turzai and his followers in the House, to raise sufficient recurring revenues to close state’s long-term structural deficit.

STATEMENT: On the Passage of the PA House GOP Revenue Plan

Posted by Marc Stier on September 13, 2017 10:11 pm

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State Budget and Taxes

HARRISBURG – Marc Stier, Director of the PA Budget and Policy Center, made the following statement on the passage of the House GOP revenue plan:

"After a long debate that was mainly remarkable for the failure of House Republicans to adequately explain or defend their proposal to transfer $600 million from special funds into the General Fund, the Pennsylvania House of Representative enacted a revenue plan that, (1) includes zero recurring revenues, which means that the next fiscal year will begin with a deficit of over $1 billion, (2) is fundamentally unbalanced in that it includes many proposals that are unlikely to raise the revenues expected, including proposals that have been included in previous budgets but have never gone into effect, and (3) is a stealth cut in government spending on critical programs in public transportation, public safety, environmental protection and agriculture, small business, economic development, and other areas that are supported by the special funds the House has raided.

The PA House GOP Budget Plan to Raid Special Funds Explained

Posted by Marc Stier on September 12, 2017 9:46 am

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State Budget and Taxes

The Pennsylvania House Republican plan to balance the budget by, among other things, raiding other state funds is something of a moving target. A new amendment Representative Moul (A03286) to House Bill 593 is the legislative vehicle in which elements of the plan will move to the floor of the House as early as today.

Third and State