Let’s Draft Some Tax Relief

April 23, 2026

This week, all eyes are on Pittsburgh. The 2026 NFL Draft is here, running Thursday to Saturday, with the city serving as the center of the football world. For Pennsylvania, that is more than a sports story. It is a reminder of how deeply football is woven into our communities — from Friday night lights to youth leagues to family driveways where the next backyard quarterback is already dreaming big. 

Many of the all-time greats were born in Pennsylvania, yet we still have to wonder how many children gave up on their dreams because their family couldn’t afford the proper gear. Government should certainly not be standing in their way.

That is why I am advocating for a sales tax holiday on football gear, including items like helmets, gloves and other equipment families need to outfit young players. This idea is simple: if we are going to celebrate football on the biggest stage in Pittsburgh this week, we should also make it easier for Pennsylvania families to afford participation in the sport next week. The cost of gear adds up quickly, especially for parents whose children somehow outgrow everything between their Tuesday and Thursday practices. 

A new season of youth sports means new cleats, a bigger helmet, replacement gloves, extra padding, and one more receipt that makes you wince. Football teaches discipline, teamwork, toughness, and accountability. Those are values worthy of investment. But, families should not be punished at the cash register for trying to keep their kids active and healthy. A targeted sales tax holiday will not solve every affordability problem in Pennsylvania, but it will make a real difference for working parents who are trying to do right by their kids. 

This proposal is also part of something bigger. My Republican colleagues in the House have put forward a package of tax cuts and tax holidays called the Freedom Through Affordability initiative. While my proposal is just a small part of it, the entire initiative would give families immediate breathing room. The package includes a temporary cut in the state personal income tax rate, a suspension of the gross receipts tax on electricity and cell phones, a six-month gas tax suspension, and other targeted sales tax holidays for items like back-to-school supplies, soccer equipment, gardening tools, toiletries, firefighter equipment, tools, and products for new and growing families. Together, these proposals are aimed at lowering costs where Pennsylvanians most feel them: at the pump, on utility bills, in their paychecks, and at the checkout counter. 

My football equipment proposal is only one small piece of that larger effort, and that is the point. Affordability is not one bill, one headline or one speech. It is a mindset. It means recognizing that when government takes a little less, families can do a little more. It means understanding that relief should not be reserved for the politically connected or the well-off. It should reach the parents packing kids into the car for practice, the families scraping together registration fees, and the communities that still rally around their local teams every fall. Our Republican affordability package could save the average family $1,100 if enacted. That is not symbolic relief. That is real money back in the hands of Pennsylvanians.

Representative Mike Armanini
75th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jennifer Fitch
717-260-6563
jfitch@pahousegop.com