HARRISBURG – Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding tomorrow’s deadline to file income tax returns.

“Tax Day is President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter and Democratic elected officials’ favorite day of the year,” Gleason said. “That is the day in which Americans are forced to pay for their fiscally irresponsible policies, including a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package and a government-run health care plan that even Governor Rendell has acknowledged will result in higher taxes.

“Obama and Pelosi often speak of hope, but what hope is left for the small business owners of this country when ObamaCare is raising their taxes by $210 billion? What hope is there for the senior citizens who will be hurt by the $4.5 billion in new taxes on their prescription drug plans? Do we really want a ‘change’ that leaves middle-class families with a $3.9 billion bill?

“At a time when Americans are looking for answers to the problems facing our economy, President Obama and Congressional Democrats are only creating more problems.

“We continue to fight against the outrageous Obama-Pelosi-Specter ‘tax-and-spend’ agenda, and look forward to turning the current voter frustration into support for our strong, principled Republican candidates this year.  With U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey, Gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett and Lt. Governor candidate Jim Cawley, Pennsylvanians can count on our ticket to promote policies that are rooted in our principles of limited government, less spending and lower taxes.”

During a CNBC interview conducted late last year, Gov. Ed Rendell acknowledged that government-run health care will increase the burdens on state governments which will lead to higher taxes; “I don’t think it’s an accounting trick, I think it’s an unfunded mandate … We just don’t have the wherewithal to absorb that without some new revenue source …” (CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” 9/3/09)

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, ObamaCare will cost middle-class taxpayers $3.9 billion in 2019 alone. (Jay Heflin, “Healthcare law socks middle class with a $3.9 billion tax increase,” The Hill, 4/12/10, http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/91669-healthcare-law-socks-middle-class-with-a-39-billion-tax-increase)

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Contact: Michael Barley
Press Release