HARRISBURG, PA – The Corbett Cawley campaign today released the following statement from Communications Director Chris Pack reiterating Governor Tom Corbett’s commitment to building a stronger Pennsylvania through his “More Jobs, Less Taxes” agenda and the ongoing hypocrisy of Secretary Tom Wolf.

“In the face of the worst economy since the Great Depression, Governor Corbett has held the line on taxes more than any other Governor in recent memory, and he’s the first governor in 40 years to actually reduce state spending before asking for any more money from taxpayers. Governor Tom Corbett remains committed to not raising taxes during his second term as Pennsylvania Governor. He has a pro-growth agenda that will create jobs, expand our economy and meet the needs of Pennsylvanians.

“In 2014, there is one candidate for Pennsylvania Governor who has made a tax pledge -- a pledge to raise taxes – and his name is Secretary Tom Wolf. Secretary Tom Wolf has pledged to unconstitutionally raise taxes on Pennsylvania businesses and middle class families who Wolf thinks aren’t paying their fair share of taxes. This is the same millionaire Tom Wolf who is using every trick and loophole in the book to avoid paying his fair share with a tax rate half the amount of a working citizen.

“Governor Corbett believes that government should innovate and maximize efficiency first and that is a stark contrast to the ‘tax now, tax later, regardless of the consequences’ approach that Tom Wolf is proposing."

Wolf is calling for an income tax increase on middle class families making over $77,700, despite the fact that Wolf pays a far lower tax rate than middle class families. In a recent Associated Press story, Wolf stated that “I think people like me should pay more.” However, the very limited tax return information released by the Wolf campaign shows that Wolf pays a drastically lower income tax rate than the average taxpayer. For example, in 2010 Wolf’s tax summary shows a total tax rate of 8 percent. By comparison, according the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the average tax rate for all taxpayers for the same year was 18.1 percent.

Wolf is also calling for a special energy tax on businesses in the natural gas industry despite the fact that Wolf himself moved his business to Delaware to avoid paying his fair share of taxes. Wolf refuses to produce any information proving that he pays his fair share of Pennsylvania taxes despite earlier assurances that he would do so. According to the Delaware County Daily times, “Business experts have said there’s not much advantage [to Wolf keeping his company in Delaware after buying it back] other than the ability to get tax breaks from the [Delaware] loophole.”

For more information on the Corbett-Cawley campaign for a stronger Pennsylvania, please visit www.tomcorbettforgovernor.com.