Bucks Co. Withholding All Tax Payments To Harrisburg
DOYLESTOWN (KDKA/AP) - Elected officials in a suburban Philadelphia county have turned the tables on state government, withholding all tax payments owed to Pennsylvania because state lawmakers and the governor have failed to reach agreement on a budget.
Officials in Bucks County said Tuesday they will withhold between $4 million and $5 million in monthly taxes and fees meant for the state, including real estate transfer taxes and revenues collected by the civil and criminal courts.
State aid to counties has dried up due to the five-month budget impasse. Bucks finance director Dave Boscola says the county has been draining its cash reserves and could run out of money by the end of the year.
County Commissioner Rob Loughery tells The (Doylestown) Intelligencer that "nobody at the state has felt any pain throughout this budget stalemate." He adds, "We strongly encourage other counties to follow suit" by withholding tax money.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald joined "The KDKA Morning News" and he doesn't think Allegheny County will follow.
"The fact is [the county doesn't] collect a lot of state money, your state sales tax, and your state income tax, your gas tax, those major components of revenue are collected by the state," says Fitzgerald.
He adds the state money collected at the county level are some court and filing fees.
"They actually don't' add up to a whole lot of money," says Fitzgerald.
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