Three Democratic state senators in Pennsylvania have recently proposed legislation that would reduce taxes on earned income while increasing taxes on wealth. However, Pennsylvania residents had mixed feelings about the bill, with many believing it could backfire on non-wealthy locals.
ABC recently reported that State Senators Art Haywood, Maria Collett, and Timothy Kearney introduced a new bill that would create the “Fair Share Tax Plan” for Pennsylvania. If approved, the bill would reduce taxes on income from work while increasing the tax rate on what is considered “wealth” from 3.07% to 6.5%. Under the legislation, this could affect capital gains, royalties, estates, dividends, passive business profits, and more.
The Democratic lawmakers argue that this would protect working Pennsylvanians from higher taxes while increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses, making the system “fairer.”
Pennsylvania Residents Think New Tax Bill Could Backfire
While many Pennsylvanians supported the Democratic proposal, quite a few others seemed skeptical, if not concerned by it. One resident complained: “Seems like another way to keep us down by further disincentivizing investing.”
The main issue, according to one resident, was that “The catch is it’s not a wealth tax. It’s an increase in income tax on certain forms of income, like capital gains and dividends. It’s applied to everyone. Including the retiree getting a dividend check from the stock he bought in his company while working.”
Someone else agreed, saying: “This personally hurts me because I am medically disabled and have to work for income, and I am on Social Security. My father had gifted me a portfolio he liquidated, so I can make money off of that and take care of myself. Every year, I have to take from that and am already taxed at 21%, so I can’t afford to be taxed more.”
Some people believed that wealthy individuals would simply find ways to avoid the tax, however. One resident argued: “The problem is, there are LOADS of legal loopholes where the rich hide their money. None of this will work until those are closed.” A seemingly outraged Pennsylvanian added: “Tax my income and sales, but my wealth or nest egg, I’m out. You get nothing.”
It remains to be seen whether the bill will pass, given the Republican majority in Pennsylvania’s legislature. However, if it does, it may not be as widely accepted as its sponsors had hoped.
