Pennsylvania is a commonwealth in which we work together to create shared prosperity and thriving communities. But we have two deficits today that stand in the way of attaining those goals. We have a budget deficit. And we have a public investment deficit – a failure to invest enough in education, human services, infrastructure, and clean air and water.

The Fair Share Tax (Senate Bill 555) together with a severance tax on natural gas drilling, corporate tax reform, and an increase in the minimum wage can turn our tax system right-side up, raising revenues while reducing taxes on most Pennsylvanians. The Fair Share Tax raises $2 billion a year to invest in our communities (get the details of the Fair Share Tax here).

The Fair Share plan cuts taxes for 60% of Pennsylvanians and causes no increase for another 25% of Pennsylvanians. Those who will pay slightly more under the Fair Share plan are the people who have seen their incomes skyrocket in the last 40 years while the rest of us have seen our wages stall or decline.   Even after implementing this plan, Pennsylvania would still have the lowest effective tax rate of any of the surrounding states for those in the top 1%.