Gov. Wolf seeks income tax hike to pay for big increase in school funding – By Associated Press (Trib Live) / Feb 2 2021
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will propose a sweeping new plan to dramatically boost funding for public schools, to be supported by an increase in the state’s personal income tax rate that also expands exemptions for lower-wage earners, administration officials said Tuesday.
Wolf’s administration began releasing details of the plan to The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s planned budget address.
Under the plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, Wolf, a Democrat, will ask the Republican-controlled Legislature for a $3 billion increase in the personal income tax to provide a massive boost to public schools and help fill a multibillion-dollar deficit inflicted by the pandemic.
The scope of the proposal rivals the budget Wolf proposed in his first year in office, which hit solid Republican opposition and never passed.
