NFIB

We would like to start this week's update by thanking the 50 NFIB members who came to Harrisburg for the 2008 Small Business Day at the Capitol. Your presence in Harrisburg and your personal stories clearly made a strong impression on state lawmakers, including passage of SB 1063. However, as you will see below, next week is sure to be a busy week and we need your assistance.

Employee mandate bill will force small business owners into court
Legislation was just introduced and now appears to be on a fast track that would eliminate independent contractor status in Pennsylvania by making everyone an employee. House Bill 2400 was introduced on April 3, and already is scheduled for a vote Tuesday, April 8, in the state House Labor Committee. 

The legislation starts with the faulty premise that everyone is an employee and then requires the employer to prove otherwise. Employers who intentionally or unintentionally misclassify employees as independent contractors are subject to criminal fines, prison time, and the loss of government contracts and are subject to civil damages by the employees who were improperly classified as independent contractors.

Don't delay! Contact your elected official today to warn them of the costly effect this legislation would have on your business by contacting them today. NFIB has made it fast and easy for you to communicate your message to your elected officials. Please feel free to personalize it and be sure to include information about your business and how this issue may uniquely impact you. If you need assistance, please contact us at NFIB/Pennsylvania at 717-232-8582.

Consolidation of earned income tax legislation on Senate calendar
The Senate is expected to consider Senate Bill 1063 next week. The legislation would bring a streamlined reporting system to reduce the time, paperwork and confusion you experience in complying with the EIT collection process. The EIT collection would be consolidated from 560 tax collectors to county-level collection. SB 1063 would help small employers by clarifying reporting responsibilities and compliance requirements, and reduce the time and paperwork associated with collection and reporting. 

NFIB tax priorities
Pennsylvania's tax burden on job creators is among the highest in the nation. For every Pennsylvania worker employed in a small firm, a small business owner must pay wages, federal and state unemployment insurance, workers' compensation insurance, Social Security and Medicare taxes. None of these costs are optional. The end of June there could be an excess of $300 million in the general fund. A wide variety of tax cut proposals have been introduced in the General Assembly this session and we would like to push for the tax cut that would do the most for all small business owners.

NFIB has developed various small business tax priorities which include: repealing the state inheritance tax; adopting federal equipment depreciation rules and "Section 179" expensing guidelines; reducing the state Personal Income (PIT) and Corporate Net Income (CNI) tax rates; restoring the scheduled phase out of the Capital Stock and Franchise (CSF) tax and raising the small-business exemption to the CSF tax; and consolidating local Earned Income Tax collection.
Please e-mail feedback to Gwenn Dando.

Business leaders say state's economy has gotten worse
Pennsylvania business leaders report a gloomy assessment of the state's economy in the recent Spring 2008 Keystone Business Climate Survey conducted by the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. In the most pessimistic result of the survey's 14-year history, 59 percent of the employers surveyed said the state's business climate has gotten worse over the last six months; just 6 percent say the Pennsylvania economy has improved.

Sincerely,
Kevin Shivers, State Director
Gwenn Dando, Assistant State Director