"Secretary Tom Wolf just yesterday said he released information showing he is not taking advantage of the Delaware Loophole to pay less than his fair share of Pennsylvania taxes. However, earlier today he once again said he will not be releasing his corporate taxes to prove he is not paying less while asking Pennsylvania businesses to pay more. Which one is it, Secretary Wolf? Just go ahead and release your corporate taxes like you said you would to prove you are paying your fair share of Pennsylvania taxes" -- Chris Pack, Communications Director

--IN CASE YOU MISSED IT--

Delco Republicans call out Wolf on tax returns

A trio of local Republicans criticized Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf for maintaining an effective personal income tax rate lower than the average Delaware County household.

Delaware County GOP Chairman Andy Reilly, county Councilman Dave White and state Rep. Tom Killion, R-168, of Middletown, questioned the transparency of Wolf, a York businessman who is running against Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, during a press conference Wednesday outside of the Delaware County Courthouse.

The trio blasted Wolf, a multimillionaire, for maintaining an effective federal tax rate of 7.3 percent in 2010 and 7 percent in 2011. Those rates were significantly less than those paid by the average Delaware County household, which makes $61,876. Couples paid an effective tax rate of 12.8 percent while individuals paid 17 percent, according to numbers provided by Reilly.

Wolf has advocated for revamping Pennsylvania’s flat income tax rate of 3.07 percent into a progressive tax based on income level.

“It is so hypocritical that a candidate like Tom Wolf would have the nerve to call for higher taxes on the middle class when he has made a history of paying less than his fair share of taxes — and less than the middle class taxes of a Delaware County family,” White said. “This is a classic case of a politician saying, ‘Do what I say, don’t do as I do.’”

Wolf released summaries of his 2010-2013 federal tax returns in April to the York Daily Record. Those summaries revealed Wolf was taxed $756,419 on $6.12 million earned during that four-year span. He also donated $1.21 million to charity from 2010-2012.

Wolf had an effective tax rate of 11.8 percent in 2012 and filed for an extension on his 2013 form.

Wolf spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan responded to the Republicans’ press conference — publicized by the Corbett campaign — by labeling Corbett a hypocrite trying to distract voters from a term that included budget deficits, education cuts and a stagnant economy.

“Only one candidate in the race for governor has raised taxes on the middle class and that is Tom Corbett,” Sheridan wrote in an e-mail. “He raised the gas tax through the roof and his education cuts forced property tax increases on middle-class families across Pennsylvania. Tom Wolf wants to give middle- and low-income Pennsylvanians their first tax cut in decades.”

The Republicans also called upon Wolf to release his previous 10 personal income tax returns and the corporate tax returns from the Wolf Organization, his kitchen cabinet supply company. They alleged that the Wolf Organization, headquartered in York, might not be paying its fair share of Pennsylvania corporate taxes because it is chartered in Delaware.

“It’s very simple — you claim you are not taking advantage of the Delaware loophole,” Killion said. “Show us your taxes. That will prove the point. ... What are you hiding? Release those tax returns.”

The Wolf Organization previously has told reporters that it does not use the Delaware loophole, which enables companies to shield corporate profits from state taxes by incorporating in Delaware. The Wolf Organization has declined to release its state corporate tax returns.

“Tom Corbett is lying about the Delaware loophole and he has no proof showing otherwise,” Sheridan wrote in an e-mail. “He continues to lie to voters to distract from his dismal record on eduction and the economy. The Wolf Organization is a private company, and has already released financial information to the public. They will not be releasing anything further.”

Reilly said Wolf also should release his last 10 personal income tax forms, noting various Democrats who called upon Mitt Romney to do likewise during the 2012 presidential campaign.

“Yet, I have not heard anything from these individuals with respect to Tom Wolf’s returns,” Reilly said. “What we’re hearing is crickets. And that should astound and shock all of us.”

Corbett released his last five tax returns in April. He had released his five prior tax returns during his 2010 campaign.

Corbett trails Wolf by nine percentage points, according to a collaborative poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS News in late July. That was marked improvement from prior polls, which showed Corbett losing by about 20 points.

White was re-elected to county council last November. Killion is up for re-election, but his Democratic opponent, Ian Thomas, has withdrawn.

Read the article online HERE.

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