PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008
HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry today said it was pleased with the strong bipartisan recognition by lawmakers that Pennsylvania needs a new approach in order to improve the Commonwealth's economic standing among the rest of the nation.
"Coming off a year in which job creators faced a bevy of potential new taxes, it is good news that lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate are committed to reducing the Commonwealth's tax burden," said Gene Barr, PA Chamber vice president of government and public affairs. "Today's action not only sends a positive message to the business community and working families, it sends a clear message to the administration that it is time to do things differently in Harrisburg."
Barr said job creators have repeatedly indicated that reducing the cost of doing business, in part by cutting taxes, is the most effective role that state government can play to foster a better business climate.
Two key tax changes supported by the unified business community were among the reductions approved by the House in H.B. Bill 377, and advanced by the Senate Finance Committee in S.B. 1229. They include the elimination of the cap on net operating losses and implementing a single sales factor apportionment formula for the Corporate Net Income tax. Removing the NOL cap would be particularly beneficial to start-up businesses, which often lose money in their first years of operation, while implementing a single sales factor would mean that Pennsylvania businesses would no longer be penalized for increasing investments in capital and hiring employees.
"With an economic slow-down anticipated and the likelihood of a difficult budget year, now is the time for elected officials to take steps to ensure that the Commonwealth is on more solid ground in terms of its ability to compete with the rest of the nation," Barr said. "In a bipartisan effort, the House voted to move the state in the right direction. We urge the Rendell administration to continue this progress by proposing a budget that controls spending and promotes economic growth by putting employers in a position to operate in a more competitive environment."
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The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, serving more than 24,000 members and customers statewide. More information is available on the PA Chamber's website at www.pachamber.org.
