Pa. House passes bill to eliminate cellphone taxes
HARRISBURG — The state House on Tuesday unanimously passed a measure to get rid of two taxes on cellphone service, checking off a high-profile item sought by Gov. Josh Shapiro in his budget proposal.
In a separate development Tuesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers proclaimed their willingness to tackle issues together as behind-thescenes state budget negotiations continued with just 17 days left in the current fiscal year. They used wording reminiscent of Shapiro’s public statements on bipartisanship.
The phone-related measure would eliminate sales tax and gross receipts tax on cell service, a move Shapiro said would save Pennsylvanians $124 million a year. Speaking on the House floor Tuesday, Rep. Ben Waxman, D-Philadelphia, called it a critical piece of legislation that was “in alignment” with Shapiro’s budget proposal. Waxman called its potential effects “a modest tax cut that will be felt the most by our poorest citizens.”
While no Republican voted against the measure — a vote that would have put them publicly on record against a proposed tax cut — there was implied criticism.
Before the vote on the bill, Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Lawrence, asked to question Waxman, who declined. Bernstine then said, “Shocking.” That drew a rebuke from House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia,
who said members should address each other respectfully and not “impugn the motive of another member of this House.”
Rep. Seth Grove, R-York and ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters last month that over time, any savings to consumers from a proposed elimination of cellphone taxes would be offset by proposed increases in the state’s 911 surcharge.
“People will be paying more,” Grove said.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
In an unrelated news conference Tuesday, a group of House members reintroduced the Meet Me in the Middle caucus formed several years ago, now led by four co-chairpersons: Jill Cooper, R-Westmoreland; Patty Kim, D-Dauphin; Jamie Flick, R-Lycoming; and Stephen Kinsey, D-Philadelphia. They described the group as a way for people, organizations and businesses to approach lawmakers who want to work on issues in a bipartisan fashion.
The narrowly divided House, with 102 Democrats and 101 Republicans, makes bipartisanship even more important, they said.
Cooper used “common sense” — words Shapiro has used repeatedly in describing his approach to governance — to describe the House’s work. Lawmakers are in Harrisburg, she said, to advance “common sense” ideas. And she said constituents tell her “they are not interested in partisan explanations. They want to know what ‘we’ are doing.”