HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf will ask lawmakers Wednesday to raise income taxes on higher earners and give public schools a massive boost in aid, even as he faces a gaping deficit and uncertainty over how much more pandemic relief the federal government will send.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the setting for Wolf’s seventh budget proposal to the state Legislature will be unusual: Wolf will deliver his annual budget address to lawmakers by a pre-recorded video, instead of speaking in-person to a joint session of the state House and Senate.
Lawmakers will watch the video in their respective chambers, or from home, since many typically join floor sessions remotely during the pandemic.
Under the plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, Wolf, a Democrat, will ask the Republican-controlled Legislature to increase the personal income tax to raise what his office estimated to be $4 billion over a full-year, or about 25% more.
Two-thirds of income-tax payers would pay less or the same amount by expanding exemptions in the tax, Wolf administration officials said.
The cash would go to public schools and to help fill a multibillion-dollar deficit inflicted by the pandemic. It is likely dead-on-arrival in the Legislature.
All told, Wolf will likely need to scrounge more than $8 billion if he is to avoid cuts to programs, underwrite a roughly 20% boost in public school aid he’s proposing and meet demand for social services, including nursing homes, county-administered mental health programs and health care for the poor.
The current year’s budget plan was approved at $33.1 billion, although federal coronavirus relief lowered the burden on state tax dollars by about $3.4 billion.
The Independent Fiscal Office, a nonpartisan legislative agency, is projecting that the state will need to spend slightly above $37.7 billion to maintain its current programs.
