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Pennsylvania Issues

  • Curb Frivolous LawsuitsWe've all heard about the label on the hair-dryer warning not to use while sleeping, or the label on the baby-carriage warning not to fold it up with a baby in it. While providing humorous anecdotes to share with friends and family, the underlying message of these labels and stories of wacky lawsuits are a sobering reflection of today's society and a legal system that has gone awry. Many times, legitimate claims become victim to an overburdened system that is in need of commonsense reforms.
  • Allow Regulatory Flexibility for Small BusinessSmall business owners deserve a seat at the table when state agencies develop new regulations. Most small employers don't find out about new regulations until after they take affect and they spend on average 60 percent more than large corporations to just comply.
  • Death Tax in PennsylvaniaThe inheritance tax, or death tax, has become part of the class warfare that besieges any attempt to bring tax relief to the American people. In 1826, Pennsylvania became the first state to adopt a death tax. Today, the Commonwealth remains one of 13 states to impose such a tax. NFIB led an effort in 2000 that resulted in lowering the rates on lineal descendants from 6 percent to 4.5 percent, and lowering the rate on sibling transfers from 15 percent to 12 percent. NFIB vowed that this only was the first step towards eliminating the tax altogether.
  • Capital Stock and Franchise Tax in PennsylvaniaThe capital stock and franchise tax is a property tax imposed on the capital stock value of businesses in Pennsylvania. Determined through a complex formula, it is a tax paid regardless of whether a business has net income. The CSFT represents a double tax on businesses in Pennsylvania, which also pay either the corporate net-income tax or the personal income tax.
  • Consistent, Competitive Labor LawsNFIB members support reforms that help keep Pennsylvanians working, reduce costs, curtail fraud and are consistent and competitive with other states.
  • Increase Access to Affordable Health InsuranceSkyrocketing health-insurance premiums continue to top the list of problems facing small-business owners. Many small-business owners have suffered through premium increases -- as high as 50 percent -- over the last several years. As a result, many businesses are forced either to shift the cost of health care to the employee or drop health-care coverage altogether. More than one-half of all uninsured adults either work for or own small businesses. In Pennsylvania, employers pay more than $10 billion in premiums every year.
  • Prohibit Government Competition Against Private EnterpriseSmall business owners routinely face unfair competition from non-profit organizations and government agencies that sell goods or services already available from taxpaying businesses. Unfair competition costs communities millions in lost tax revenues and scores of private-sector jobs.
  • Small Business Tax CutsNFIB members oppose new or increased taxes targeting small business owners and support legislative and administrative changes to reduce the administrative costs associated with compliance. NFIB members oppose the tax increases included in Gov. Ed Rendell's 2007-08 proposed state budget.