To WAM or Not to WAM in Pa. Budget by KYW's Tony Romeo
Pennsylvania Lawmakers haggle over pet projects in stalled budget negotiations. So much for Monty Hall's Lets Make a Deal.
A spokesman for the Senate Republican leader insists there will be no WAMS in this tight budget year. But Tim Potts, co-founder of the good Pennsylvania government group “Democracy Rising,” says he believes there is probably more than $100 million tucked away for WAMS:
“The problem is that there’s never been an accurate accounting for WAMS. They’re never told us where they are, how much they are, what the process is used to get them.”
Keep in mind that the tax on arts, music, and theatre is meant to bring in $120 million. Guess they will be funding the WAMS if they are in the budget.
Here's what happens when government geniuses pick on an industry and depend on its tax revenue. Hotel Taxes Down In Lancaster
Fast Eddy Rendell's battlecry was that revenue projections were phony. In a tight state budget how does Rendell justify offering a job to the soon to be ex-mayor of Harrisburg? Tony Phyrillas previously reported that Rendell hired 110 employees, many high salaried where the pay is at least $100,000.00, on his own after he announced a hiring freeze. I guess the state budget crisis and revenue projections affect everyone except Rendell.
Let's finish up with John Baers' column in the Philadephia News that takes a semi-satirical look at the confusion over what is and what is not in the current proposed Pennsylvania State Budget.
WITH A $28 billion seemingly shaky budget deal now being explained to the rank-and-file lawmakers whose votes are needed to enact it, here's a peek at how that process might be moving along.
Picture closed meetings: many lawmakers, a few legislative leaders.
LEADER: OK, you've all seen or heard some details. Questions?
LAWMAKER #1: Yeah, explain why we should vote for $700 million in new taxes if there's a $450 million surplus in here and another $100 million in WAMs.
LEADER: We need, um, a cushion for next year. And it's probably best not to mention cushions or WAMs in your next taxpayer-financed constituent newsletter home.
LAWMAKER #2: Why are we canceling the scheduled cut in the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax for business given that the national, nonpartisan and venerable Tax Foundation just reported our ranking among states "best for business" has slipped from 22nd in 2006 to 27th now.
LEADER: Well 27th is like halfway to best, right? Next question.
LAWMAKER #3: What's the reasoning behind a new 25-cent tax on cigarettes and little cigars that look like cigarettes, but at the same time we remain the only state not taxing real cigars and chewing tobacco?
LEADER: Perhaps you are unaware of U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts released Sept. 1 saying our state, our people, our constituents will produce 19.2 million pounds of tobacco this year, up from 6.8 million in 2002, making us one of only three states, along with Kentucky and North Carolina, with a higher yield than last year. It's a grower's market, baby. Plus, remember our motto: "Gutless on Smokeless."
LAWMAKER #4: I don't see anything in here about taxing gays for access to restaurants, concerts, pro sports, public restrooms, churches and rural counties.
LEADER: No, Daryl, we took that out.
LAWMAKER #5: Speaking of concerts, why are we taxing concerts, performing arts, museums, zoos and such and not pro sports games?
LEADER: You really think the Big Guy, OK the formerly Big Guy, wants to anger owners of the Phillies and Pirates while angling to become Major League Baseball commissioner? Come on.
What I think of Ed Rendell: (I think state outrage over him is on par with the outrage against George Bush as the end of his term)
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Special Interests Budget Winners
Editorial featured in Sunday's Standard Speaker:
Pennsylvania voters might reasonably ponder how Pennsylvania lawmakers, architects of the ongoing state budget travesty, expect to be re-elected next year.
As it turns out, the unfolding budget itself contains a partial answer: they're going to try to use your money to buy your vote.
The budget agreement struck last Friday includes $100 million for legislative initiative grants, the infamous "walking around money" by which legislators funnel public funds to their pet projects.
So, be on the lookout for a check-bearing politician in your neighborhood. Not that you shouldn't accept the money, but it would be well to remember its true purpose.
While arranging through the budget deal to fund their favorite initiatives, lawmakers also will put many important public or private nonprofit institutions in peril through this budget. They include libraries, museums, zoos and parks.
The deal calls for an end to the tax exemption on tickets for arts enterprises. According to Sen. Jake Corman of Centre County, it would be a "user fee" in that some of the revenue would be set aside for state arts funding.
Governments sometimes apply user fees to discretionary activities. They charge fees for use of publicly owned recreation fields, swimming pools, and so on, in order to mitigate the costs and focus the burden on users.
It is curious that lawmakers would apply such a tax to fine and performing arts, zoos, museums, movie theaters and parks, and not to other forms of discretionary entertainment spending. State taxpayers have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the construction of fine new stadiums and arenas in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, for example, yet lawmakers do not plan to impose the state's 6 percent sales tax on tickets for the Phillies, Pirates, Steelers, Eagles, Penguins, Flyers or 76ers.
And, while lawmakers don't seem to have any problem taxing artistic endeavors, they can't bring themselves to impose an entirely reasonable "severance" tax on the state's huge and growing natural gas industry. Instead, they will vastly expand drillers' ability to exploit public land.
Pennsylvania thus is the only gas-producing state without such a tax. It also is the only state without a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco products.
Failing to impose fair taxes on those products will enable those industries instead to continue paying for high-priced lobbyists to press their causes in Harrisburg. The arts don't have that kind of leverage.
Every budget has priorities. This unfolding one has some good ones, especially education. But, unfortunately, lawmakers themselves and their favored, well-heeled interests continue to be among the top priorities.
Eachus PAC Contributions
McCall PAC Contributions
Mellow PAC Contributions
Rendell PAC Contributions Of course he will not be a factor next year.
AG Corbett PAC Contributions
As opposed to someone like
Phyllis Mundy or Ray Musto or Lisa Baker.
Pennsylvania voters might reasonably ponder how Pennsylvania lawmakers, architects of the ongoing state budget travesty, expect to be re-elected next year.
As it turns out, the unfolding budget itself contains a partial answer: they're going to try to use your money to buy your vote.
The budget agreement struck last Friday includes $100 million for legislative initiative grants, the infamous "walking around money" by which legislators funnel public funds to their pet projects.
So, be on the lookout for a check-bearing politician in your neighborhood. Not that you shouldn't accept the money, but it would be well to remember its true purpose.
While arranging through the budget deal to fund their favorite initiatives, lawmakers also will put many important public or private nonprofit institutions in peril through this budget. They include libraries, museums, zoos and parks.
The deal calls for an end to the tax exemption on tickets for arts enterprises. According to Sen. Jake Corman of Centre County, it would be a "user fee" in that some of the revenue would be set aside for state arts funding.
Governments sometimes apply user fees to discretionary activities. They charge fees for use of publicly owned recreation fields, swimming pools, and so on, in order to mitigate the costs and focus the burden on users.
It is curious that lawmakers would apply such a tax to fine and performing arts, zoos, museums, movie theaters and parks, and not to other forms of discretionary entertainment spending. State taxpayers have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the construction of fine new stadiums and arenas in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, for example, yet lawmakers do not plan to impose the state's 6 percent sales tax on tickets for the Phillies, Pirates, Steelers, Eagles, Penguins, Flyers or 76ers.
And, while lawmakers don't seem to have any problem taxing artistic endeavors, they can't bring themselves to impose an entirely reasonable "severance" tax on the state's huge and growing natural gas industry. Instead, they will vastly expand drillers' ability to exploit public land.
Pennsylvania thus is the only gas-producing state without such a tax. It also is the only state without a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco products.
Failing to impose fair taxes on those products will enable those industries instead to continue paying for high-priced lobbyists to press their causes in Harrisburg. The arts don't have that kind of leverage.
Every budget has priorities. This unfolding one has some good ones, especially education. But, unfortunately, lawmakers themselves and their favored, well-heeled interests continue to be among the top priorities.
Eachus PAC Contributions
McCall PAC Contributions
Mellow PAC Contributions
Rendell PAC Contributions Of course he will not be a factor next year.
AG Corbett PAC Contributions
As opposed to someone like
Phyllis Mundy or Ray Musto or Lisa Baker.
Senator Jake Corman- Bad Idea On This Issue
A poster who obviously works for a Harrisburg legislator gave me a tip so I followed up on it. The poster comes from the Democratic camp and thought I would not publish the following information as it deals with a Republican.
It appears the scheme to tax the arts, music, and theatre came from Senate Republican Jake Corman.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A senator who helped engineer the state budget deal says a plan to impose the sales tax on tickets to arts and cultural events is designed to shift the taxpayers' cost onto patrons of those activities.
Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Jake Corman said Tuesday that the idea is to make those taxes a "user fee."
Eliminating the current sales-tax exemptions is expected to generate roughly $120 million a year for the state , about twice as much as those activities currently receive in state money.
Corman says an as-yet-unspecified portion of that revenue would go into a special fund for the arts and cultural institutions.
The Centre County Republican said the percentage earmarked for arts and cultural institutions is still being firmed up.
Evidently thirty other states have this form of tax so the thought process was "Why not Pennsylvania?" I disagree with Senator Corman on this issue. It is expected to raise $120 million. There are too many small non-profits who fall into this category and the hit will leave a big hurt.
It appears the scheme to tax the arts, music, and theatre came from Senate Republican Jake Corman.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A senator who helped engineer the state budget deal says a plan to impose the sales tax on tickets to arts and cultural events is designed to shift the taxpayers' cost onto patrons of those activities.
Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Jake Corman said Tuesday that the idea is to make those taxes a "user fee."
Eliminating the current sales-tax exemptions is expected to generate roughly $120 million a year for the state , about twice as much as those activities currently receive in state money.
Corman says an as-yet-unspecified portion of that revenue would go into a special fund for the arts and cultural institutions.
The Centre County Republican said the percentage earmarked for arts and cultural institutions is still being firmed up.
Evidently thirty other states have this form of tax so the thought process was "Why not Pennsylvania?" I disagree with Senator Corman on this issue. It is expected to raise $120 million. There are too many small non-profits who fall into this category and the hit will leave a big hurt.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
State News Today
Rendell Meets With Arts/Theatre Group To Ax Tax
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia cultural groups on Wednesday met with Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders of both parties to convince them to drop a budget proposal that would levy the state sales tax on music, dance, theater and museum admissions.
More....
Lawmakers Oppose High School Graduation Exams + No Funding For It
A groundswell of public opposition to high school graduation exams is reflected in the 161 House members who signed onto a resolution to block the state Department of Education from implementing the program.
More....
House GOP Vow To Reject Budget Reached By Leaders
A state budget agreement between legislative leaders and the governor is far from a done deal in the House, where Republicans are vowing to fight it and some Democrats are wary of tax increase proposals.
More....
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia cultural groups on Wednesday met with Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders of both parties to convince them to drop a budget proposal that would levy the state sales tax on music, dance, theater and museum admissions.
More....
Lawmakers Oppose High School Graduation Exams + No Funding For It
A groundswell of public opposition to high school graduation exams is reflected in the 161 House members who signed onto a resolution to block the state Department of Education from implementing the program.
More....
House GOP Vow To Reject Budget Reached By Leaders
A state budget agreement between legislative leaders and the governor is far from a done deal in the House, where Republicans are vowing to fight it and some Democrats are wary of tax increase proposals.
More....
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