September 4, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kirstin Snow, Communications Director, comms@pennpolicy.org
Pennsylvania Policy Center, Pennsylvanians Together Campaign, Labor, Local Officials Hold Tax Justice Town Hall with Congressman Cartwright
Pittston, PA—Pennsylvania Policy Center, the statewide affiliate of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and its action arm, Pennsylvanians Together, held a tax justice town hall prior to the upcoming renewal of the 2017 Trump tax laws.
The event featured the following speakers:
- Congressman Matt Cartwright
- Pennsylvania Policy Center Executive Director, Marc Stier
- Pennsylvania Policy Center/Pennsylvanians Together Campaign Director, Dwayne Heisler
- Rashida Lovely, Equity Chair, Sierra Club of PA
- Representative Jim Haddock
- Keshia Williams, SEIU and Community Advocate
During the event, Congressman Cartwright said, “Big corporations are reporting record profits, while workers are struggling to make ends meet. But let’s remember that it was the American worker who built this country. And it was workers, coming together to bargain collectively, who built a strong middle class. That’s why corporate tax dodging must be stopped. We’ve got to level the playing field for working families and small businesses.”
Stier added, “The income and wealth gap between working people and the ultra-rich has grown for forty years, while taxes on the rich and multinational corporations were sharply cut. We are all here today to talk about reversing direction by asking the corporate elite to pay what they owe for the many benefits they get from our government.”
Heisler said, “Making taxes fair isn’t just a tax fight, it represents a key choice point in the direction of our country. Are we a nation that wants to continue to line the pockets of billionaires and big corporations, or are we a nation that helps everyday working Americans to get ahead?”
Williams closed by saying, “To make America great again, so to speak, we should be playing by the same rules and pay the taxes we owe. It’s not fair that billion dollar companies get away with paying little to no federal income tax.”
(L-R) Dwayne Heisler, Rashida Lovely, Rep. Haddock, Keshia Williams, Congressman Cartwright, Marc Stier)