January 30th, 2009

With a $2.3 billion revenue shortfall currently, it is not too surprising to hear the words “cuts” and “taxes” coming out of Governor Rendell’s mouth when he refers to the fiscal year 2009-2010 budget. He did not disclose a figure for the total budget.

Governor Rendell offered the following list of ideas as a preview of what is yet to come in his budget address on Wednesday, February 4:

1. $.10 tax added to a pack of cigarettes – projected to garner $50 million

2.  A tax on smokeless tobacco and cigars – projected to garner $50 million

3. Taxes on the extraction of natural gas on the Marcellus Shale rock formation – projected to garner $150 million

4. “Pharmacy carve-out”

5. Elimination of  the 100 of 750  line items in the state budget

To read the full article, visit Pennlive.com