Burns: Let taxpayers smell the budget roses, for a change
Unprecedented state budget surplus should go for property tax relief
Rep. Frank Burns February 8, 2022 | 2:40 PM
HARRISBURG, FEB. 8 – Saying that Pennsylvania doesn’t need to spend every dollar it has on hand – especially now that state coffers are flush with cash – state Rep. Frank Burns’ reaction to Gov. Tom Wolf’s final budget proposal is simple: Give some of the surplus back to taxpayers.
Drawing on events of a few years ago, when he resisted extreme pressure to vote for higher taxes to resolve what was billed as a “$2 billion structural deficit,” Burns, D-Cambria, said that experience proves the state will always justify a ravenous appetite for spending.
“It seems that no matter how bad, or how good, the financial picture is, the Harrisburg vacuum finds a way to suck up every penny it can find – and to spend it just as fast,” Burns said. “Now that everyone admits to having a rosy budget situation, I think we should let the taxpayers smell some of those roses by giving them back some of their money.”
Recalling the time when he was punished for being one of a handful of Democrats who voted against a state budget proposal that included substantial tax increases – helping sink the measure – Burns said he’ll continue pushing for a commonsense, zero-tax increase budget.
“Unlike some others, I’m not tone-deaf when it comes to listening to the people back home – and I cast my votes accordingly,” Burns said. “The people I represent want state government to live within its means, just like they do. It is their collective will that guides my finger when I decide to push the green button to vote ‘Yes’ or the red button to vote ‘No.’ That’s never going to change.”
Burns first proposed using part of the state budget surplus to reduce property taxes back in 2019, and is hoping legislative leaders finally see the wisdom and fairness in embracing the idea.
Relieved that Wolf’s budget proposal does not sound another clarion call for new taxes, Burns said the current situation makes him glad he crossed party lines in 2020 to vote for the Taxpayer Protection Act to limit state spending increases, and to have voted yesterday for a bill to limit massive government spending.
“The only way we’re going to avoid tax increases tomorrow is to curb Harrisburg’s lust for spending today,” Burns said.