Rendell's Budget vs. Taxpayer Fairness Act

MEMORANDUM

DATE: February 8, 2006
TO: All Republican Senators
CC: Capitol Newsroom
FROM: Erik Arneson
SUBJECT: Rendell 06-07 Budget Proposal vs. Taxpayer Fairness Act

Gov. Rendell today claimed that his 06-07 budget proposal represents a spending increase of 3.8%. However, his number builds on a base that includes supplemental appropriations he has proposed for the 05-06 budget year.

The number that real people would understand – and the number that real people would use in their own budgeting – follows:

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2005-06 Budget as Signed into Law................... $24,267,563,000 ($24.27 billion)

Taxpayer Fairness Act Growth Index[1]:................ 3.47%

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06-07 Budget Allowed Under the TFA[2]................ $25,110,142,000 ($25.11 billion)

Dollar Growth Allowed Under the TFA................. $842,579,000 ($842.6 million)

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Rendell 06-07 Spending Proposal....................... $25,425,266,000 ($25.43 billion)

Real Rendell Spending Growth........................... $1,157,703,000 ($1.16 billion)

Real Rendell Spending Growth Rate.................... 4.77%

Thus, the 06-07 Rendell spending proposal exceeds the Taxpayer Fairness Act growth index by $315.1 million.

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[1] Index as defined in HB 2082, pn 3152

[2] The “Allowed Under the TFA” numbers do not take into account the common-sense exceptions built into the proposed Taxpayer Fairness Act. If, for example, two-thirds of the General Assembly decided that it was important to exceed this cap, then it could be done.