FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland D-Delaware www.pahouse.com/Kirkland

To: Letter to the Editor

 Re: Eliminating proposed tax on arts and culture, volunteer fire companies and VFW's

The House Democratic Caucus continues to advance its budget plan that would eliminate a proposed tax on admission to arts and cultural events and a tax on the small games of chance that many nonprofits depend on to raise money.

House Democrats realize the need for new revenues to balance the budget, but our values dictate that these revenues not come from volunteers, VFWs and museums.

I have opposed the Republican Senate plan since it was first proposed. As chairman of the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, I can report that visits to Pennsylvania's cultural and arts events, museums, zoos, sporting events and other entertainment and recreational attractions generate $28 billion a year for the state's tourism industry. The tourism industry employs nearly 600,000 people, and Pennsylvania is the fourth-most visited state in the nation. Tourism is an industry that continues to thrive in Pennsylvania despite an unstable economic business climate. The Senate-proposed arts and culture tax would be devastating both for the people who attend these events and the people whose jobs depend on them.

The proposed tax on small games of chance would be just as damaging to volunteer fire departments, veterans' groups and other nonprofits that use these small games of chance to fund important community projects and services.

House Democrats have passed a much better plan that raises the necessary revenues without harming our tourism industry or our volunteers. The House-passed bill would instead establish a tax on smokeless and other non-cigarette tobacco products – Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that currently does not tax these products – and increase the cigarette tax by 25 cents per pack. In addition, our plan would also impose a severance fee on the big oil and gas companies drilling for natural gas in the state's Marcellus Shale formation. Most of this natural gas – and the profits – will be shipped out of Pennsylvania; these companies should pay their fair share to our state.  

House Democrats have made a choice between taxing volunteers and museums or taxing Big Oil and Big Tobacco. I believe we have made the right choice.

Sincerely,

Thaddeus Kirkland

State Representative

House Chairman Tourism and Recreational Development Committee

159^th Legislative District