As the two Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates prepare for their second debate in Pittsburgh this evening, Democrat Dan Onorato and his supporters continue to issue misinformation and false claims that his opponent, Republican Tom Corbett, has contradicted his Pledge to oppose and veto any and all efforts to raise taxes.
However, they fact remains that Tom Corbett has done or said nothing to break or contradict his important pledge to not raise taxes on Pennsylvanians. Furthermore, Tom Corbett’s campaign has been unequivocal in response to Onorato’s false and misleading attacks. The campaign reiterated the following in a press release just yesterday:
…call it a tax, fee or contribution – Tom Corbett is not going to raise it as the next Governor of Pennsylvania.
Americans for Tax Reform applauds Tom Corbett’s principled commitment to represent and look out for Pennsylvania taxpayers, as opposed to the tenured bureaucrats and union bosses that have controlled Harrisburg for the past eight years.
Tom Corbett recognizes the only way to rein in unsustainable and out of control spending in Harrisburg is by taking higher taxes off the table and that raising taxes is the preferred solution of those who do not wish to actually govern. Standing in contrast is Dan Onorato, whose most significant legislative achievement is presiding over the largest tax increase in Allegheny County history. In fact, Dan Onorato is currently lobbying the legislature for higher energy taxes; this despite the fact that studies confirm that such a tax increase will reduce job-creating activity in the commonwealth, where unemployment nears double digits.
President Obama and congressional Democrats have raised taxes on net by more that $352 billion in the last 21 months. In light of this it’s imperative that the next governor not pile on with further job-killing tax increases at the state level. Tom Corbett is the only candidate in the race who has made clear that, if he is elected governor, Pennsylvanians wouldn’t have to worry about their already onerous tax burden rising any higher for the next four years. Standing in stark contrast is Dan Onorato’s agenda, which looks like Ed Rendell’s third term.