July 29, 2009
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Reporter Interviews Director of Policy and Communications Bill Ahern on Pennsylvania’s Tax Burden
"Pa. tax burden has risen 49 percent in 10 years"
By Brad Bumstead
If you work, own a home, drive, smoke cigarettes, drink liquor or buy tires—and even when you die—there's a tax bill to pay to state or local governments in Pennsylvania.
The per capita tax burden in Pennsylvania, 11th highest in the nation, increased steadily during the past 10 years, according to figures from the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit research group in Washington. The amount Pennsylvanians pay—$4,463, annually—is for each man, woman and child.
"Pennsylvanians pay about two-thirds of that to their own state and local governments," said Bill Ahern, spokesman for the Tax Foundation. "They pay about one-third to other state and local governments" in taxes such as out-of-state sales taxes or property taxes on vacation properties in other states. ...
In 1999, Pennsylvania's overall state and local tax burden was $2,992. That has increased by 49 percent over 10 years, according to Tax Foundation figures. Per capita income in Pennsylvania increased 43 percent over the same period.
