Pa. Dems target Big Tech in push to tax billionaires

June 2, 2026

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Good afternoon everyone,

It’s Tuesday, June 2, and welcome back to another edition of the Keystone Labor Report. You can find the previous edition here.

Budget season is in full swing at the Pennsylvania Capitol with lawmakers from both chambers returning to Harrisburg and trying to hash out a budget by the end of the month.

Passing a budget is the only job the legislature is required to do, and sometimes Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate like to test out those boundaries.

Thousands of people from across the state descend upon the capitol complex, jam up the hallways, and hold wall-to-wall press conferences and rallies throughout the short-lived session week.

It’s truly a sight to behold and it is definitely not enjoyable for those who suffer from some claustrophobia.

Sean Kitchen

Political Correspondent, The Keystone

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

One issue won’t be going away any time soon: There are mounting calls to tax billionaires to fund essential services and help backfill federal cuts President Donald Trump made to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through his landmark legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Hundreds of advocates from the Tax Billionaires, Fund PA campaign marched through the capitol promoting their digital advertising tax, which Pennsylvania House Democrats are preparing to vote out of committee and onto the House floor on Wednesday.

Lawmakers are targeting Big Tech at a time when data centers are becoming increasingly unpopular and believe this bill can raise as much as $500 million by adding a 5% gross receipts tax on digital ad spending.

“ If Big Tech wants to spend record amounts on annoying *ss-ads that pervade every part of our lives, then we should be able to recoup the taxes they should be paying to fund public services that everyone relies on,” State Rep. John Inglis (D-Allegheny) said at a rally on Monday.

Millions of Pennsylvanian residents and businesses will see their electric bills go up after the latest round of utility rate increases that went into effect on June 1, per The Keystone.
Pennsylvania House lawmakers passed a bill banning school students from using their cellphones throughout the school day by the 2027-2028 school year, per USA Today.
Will Pennsylvania lawmakers pass their budget by the end of the month? City & State takes a look at the questions surrounding the upcoming budget negotiations.

(Sean Kitchen / The Keystone)

This weekend, I will be traveling to Philadelphia for the yearly Netroots Nation conference.

For those of you who don’t know, Netroots Nation is basically the progressive equivalent to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and this is the fourth or fifth conference I’ve attended since they started in 2006.

On Saturday at 11:30, I will be participating in a panel discussion that talks about turning listening into strategy and helping to build a future progressive movement.

Make sure to stop by and say hello if you are around at that time!