‘No-tax’ pledge is key component of state budget debate

By Caleb Taylor | PA Independent

HARRISBURG — An anti-tax pledge signed by several Pennsylvania lawmakers has been at the center of the state budget debate, as legislators question its influence on spending decisions being made in the next two weeks.

A total of 34 state legislators and Gov. Tom Corbett signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” a project of Americans for Tax Reform, a lobbying organization in Washington, D.C., run by economic conservative activist Grover Norquist.

By signing the pledge, the politicians, 31 of whom are Republican, promise not to vote for tax increases or new taxes. However, it does allow for new taxes, if they are offset with revenue neutral reductions of other taxes.

For the lawmakers who signed the pledge, it signals their beliefs and holds them accountable to voters.

“I don’t believe we have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem,” said state Rep. Stephen Bloom, R-Cumberland. “The pledge is a helpful way to show that there is another way that doesn’t burden people with additional taxes.”

Corbett signed the “no-tax” pledge during his gubernatorial campaign this past year. The governor has "changed the dynamic" in Harrisburg by taking new taxes and tax increases off the table during the budget process, even though some lawmakers and special interest groups are calling for a tax on natural gas production in the state.

“The past eight years, Harrisburg has been spending and borrowing, and the governor is committed to reducing the size and scope of government without raising taxes,” said Kevin Harley, Corbett’s spokesman.

But Corbett has taken a fair amount of criticism for the pledge, which some lawmakers believe has compelled the politicians who signed it to cede control over Pennsylvania tax and spending issues to a conservative organization.  

State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-Clearfield, who signed the pledge more than 20 years ago, critiqued Corbett’s refusal to compromise with legislators on the budget because of Corbett’s opposition to any new taxes. George is a vocal supporter of the proposal to tax natural gas production.

“I think (Corbett’s) put us in a terrible situation,” said George. “He’s already fixed himself to a position where we legislators are going to be held hostage for some of his actions.”

This past week, state Rep. Joseph Markosek, D-Allegheny, minority chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, referred to Norquist as the Republican’s “Rasputin” for the apparent control he is exercising over the budget decisions.

Markosek backed off those comments Tuesday, saying Corbett was “locked in" on the pledge, while lawmakers did not seem to have the pledge in the front of their minds.

Democrats — and some Republicans — have pushed for a new tax on natural gas production as a part of the upcoming state budget. Americans for Tax Reform declared the proposed “impact fee” to be a new tax under the provisions of the pledge.

But the pledge also has its critics, even among those who signed it. For example, the pledge has no expiration date, of which some signers said they were unaware.

State Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver, said he was unaware that the pledge never expired when he signed it in 2008 and might consider a tax or fee increase if it was in his “district’s best interest.”

“I thought it was a wrong time to raise taxes at that time,” said Marshall, who was first elected in 2008. “This session there are some signs of growth, and we are going in the right direction.”

Patrick Gleason, American for Tax Reform’s director of state affairs, said his organization sends out information about the pledge, including its expiration date, to state and federal political candidates to avoid confusion.

The pledge “doesn’t go on forever, but is effective for the duration of a lawmaker’s tenure in the office for which they signed,” said Gleason.

Taylor is a journalist with the Pennsylvania Independent