Can sin taxes prop up Pa.'s budget? - The Morning Call

Pennsylvania lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday to begin putting the finishing touches on a $31.6 billion budget that isn't balanced just yet. Here's how you can help: Start drinking, smoking and gambling. This year's budget is propped up by sin taxes designed to raise $730 million by taxing new forms of gambling, relaxing state liquor laws and increasing the tax on tobacco products. The problem is that all that new money expected from all that new sinning is based on projections that may not be reliable. If those revenue projections don't hold, the Legislature may have to slash some of the extra spending booked for education, the opioid abuse crisis and other matters. http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-gambling-sin-taxes-20160924-story.html