The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which represents
14,000 small businesses in Pennsylvania, applaud lawmakers for voting down Gov.
Tom Wolf’s proposed increase in the Personal Income Tax (PIT). The 16-percent
PIT increase would have dramatically raised the tax bill for small-business
owners and reduced working capital that companies use to maintain or expand
their operations and hire new employees.
“We are grateful that our lawmakers listened to Pennsylvania’s small-business
owners and realized that an increase in the Personal Income Tax would have been
devastating for them,” said Kevin Shivers, executive state director of NFIB/PA.
“These entrepreneurs create 65-percent of all new jobs. Governor Wolf’s plan
would have reduced hiring and slowed Pennsylvania’s economic growth.”
Shivers noted this was the second time lawmakers overwhelmingly
rejected the Governor’s tax increase requests.
Currently, 80-percent of all businesses in Pennsylvania pay their
business taxes through the PIT and not through the Corporate Tax. Every s-corporation,
partnership, limited liability corporation and sole proprietor would have been
hit by Gov. Wolf’s proposed PIT increase. NFIB Pennsylvania worked hard at the state capitol to make sure lawmakers knew the negative impact such an income tax hike would have on small business.
“Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate has increased since December
2014 and many are questioning whether we are heading toward another recession.
The Tax Foundation ranks Pennsylvania’s tax burden as tenth highest in the
nation. This would have been the worst time to further tax small businesses,”
said Shivers.
Shivers noted today the announcement today that the Pennsylvania Public
School Employee Retirement System (PSERS) which assumes a 7.5-return on
investment earned less than half that amount in 2015. “Enough tax talk. It’s time for our Governor and his allies to fix
the state pension crisis once and for all!”
PLEASE WRITE YOUR PA LAWMAKERS AND TELL THEM NOT TO BALANCE THE STATE BUDGET ON THE BACKS OF SMALL BUSINESS! CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL
