Pa. House to take up Wolf tax plan in bid to end budget impasse

HARRISBURG — The latest push to resolve Pennsylvania's 3-month-old budget impasse is going before state lawmakers in the form of a proposal by Gov. Tom Wolf to raise billions in new taxes.

The state House plans to take up Wolf's tax proposal on Wednesday with an initial vote that will test support for the first-term Democrat's proposal.

Wolf wants to plug a budget deficit and increase spending on education and human services by increasing the personal income tax rate and imposing a new severance tax on natural gas drilling.

The governor's goal is to raise $1.4 billion for the current fiscal year and $2.4 billion next year.

There's considerable Republican opposition to imposing new broad-based taxes. The governor has been working to secure the dozens of GOP votes he'd need for passage.