Cambria Times

LORETTO—Rep. Jim Rigby (R-Cambria/Somerset) and the House Republican Policy Committee, led by Chairman Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington), convened the fourth in a series of hearings to discuss House Bill 2388, the House Republican tax cut bill that would return $3 billion to the people of Pennsylvania by reducing the Personal Income Tax (PIT) rate from 3.07% to 2.8% and eliminating the Gross Receipts Tax on electric bills.

The hearing, titled “Historic Tax Cuts,” featured testifiers Elizabeth Stelle, director of policy analysis at The Commonwealth Foundation; Robert Sloan, owner of PJ’s Tavern; and Ray Lenz, a 91-year-old retired resident of Loretto.

Pennsylvania's economy is facing challenges such as an aging population without incentives to retain young workers. Businesses are relocating to states with more favorable tax environments, and start-ups are deterred by what is termed the “start-up penalty.” Inflation has increased costs for essentials like groceries, medicine, and electricity.

Living on constrained budgets, many residents face unhealthy standards of living. For example, Lenz shared that his friend chose not to use air conditioning to avoid higher bills. He noted, “Drugs are very expensive for senior citizens. And almost every senior citizen needs a drug.”

Rigby expressed gratitude to Lenz: “It’s always a pleasure listening to his words of wisdom, advocating for our communities to take care of seniors and learn from them.”

“House Bill 2388 will have an immediate impact on our communities,” said Rigby. “We need to grow our economy and create family-sustaining jobs, and we can do this by lifting the tax burden. If we don’t, Pennsylvania will remain at the bottom of the competition.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro claims he wants Pennsylvania to compete with other states but is accused by some Republicans of spending taxpayers’ money without restraint instead of returning it to Pennsylvanians.

“Harrisburg needs to get out of the way,” said Kail. “We need to give money back to the people so they can invest in things that matter to them. We need to get out of their way so they can thrive.”

The complete hearing or previous hearings held on June 11, June 17, and June 18 can be viewed at www.pagoppolicy.com/video/policy.

The final hearing in the “Historic Tax Cuts” series will be held today in Allegheny County.

Representative Jim Rigby

71st Legislative District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact: Scott B. Little

717-260-6137 (office), 717-497-5967 (cell)

Slittle@pahousegop.com

RepJimRigby.com / Facebook.com/RepJimRigby