HARRISBURG — Lawmakers kicked off budget hearings Tuesday as the Pennsylvania state government faces a multibillion-dollar revenue gap — a hangover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — and Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to raise the state income tax takes center stage.

At the first House Appropriations Committee hearing, Democrats defended Wolf’s proposal, which is structured to shift the burden to higher earners and cut taxes for lower-income workers in a state with one of the most regressive tax structures.

They said Wolf’s proposal would also fairly fund public schools and open the door to school property tax cuts in some districts.

Republicans, who control the Legislature, questioned whether Wolf’s income tax proposal — designed to lower taxes on lower-income households and raise them on higher-income households — is constitutional under case law that interprets the state constitution to require a flat income tax rate, rather than a graduated rate.