Corbett shuns tax hikes to balance state budget
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett is telling lawmakers that he’s against solving the state’s growing budget shortfall with new tax increases.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman said today that Corbett told him and other top Republican lawmakers in a meeting today that he wants to balance the budget with spending cuts and one-time money transfers.
Corman says he’ll explore whether the Senate’s Republican majority will support such a plan. But Corman didn’t want to reveal details before he briefs rank-and-file Republican senators.
May’s tax collections added more bad news, with senators saying the state collected $106 million below expectations. That compounds a gap of more than $1 billion projected in Corbett’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.