Take action to prevent new rounds of budget cuts!

HB 2435 closes tax loopholes in order to preserve
health and human services, education

The unrelenting recession continued to take its toll on Pennsylvania's state budget in April. The Commonwealth's revenue shortfall reached $1.1 billion, and things could be worse by the time the fiscal year ends on June 30.

Some senators are saying the state cannot afford to spend more than $27.5 billion in the 2010-11 budget. That would require lawmakers to cut the budget back almost to 2007-08 spending levels.

A cuts-only budget - at a time when health care and public safety costs are rising - would force harmful reductions to services for children, seniors and people with disabilities. It would set the Commonwealth back by several years, while hurting the state's economy. Policymakers should take a more balanced approach to this budget crisis.

We need your help!

State Representative Dwight Evans has introduced HB 2435, legislation that would close tax loopholes and end special interest tax breaks, while preserving critical services for Pennsylvania families. This bill is scheduled to come before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for a vote during the week of May 24.

It will close corporate tax loopholes, enact a severance tax on natural gas production, assess an excise tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco, and close a sales tax giveaway that has put millions of your sales tax dollars in the pockets of big retailers like Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

The package also includes a reduction in the corporate tax rate and other business tax cuts long sought by the business community.

The package will raise $370 million in the first year. Read more in a detailed overview of the revenue bill.

Take action today!

Call and ask your House member to close tax loopholes and reform the tax code before making deep service cuts that will hurt Pennsylvania families. Tell them to support HB 2435!

Look up contact information for your representative (search by county or zip code). Don't wait! Give them a call today!

Or, you can send your state Representative a fax today, asking they support HB 2435. (Brought to you via PA Hunger Action Center)

This information is brought to you via The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is a non-partisan policy research project that provides independent, credible analysis on state tax, budget and related policy matters, with attention to the impact of current or proposed policies on working families. Learn more: www.pennbpc.org.