Following Pennsylvania lawmakers and Governor Shapiro approving a $50.1 billion state budget, NFIB State Director Greg Moreland reacts to the deal and what it means for Pennsylvania’s small businesses:

“The final budget product was lackluster and disappointing, especially for the Pennsylvania small business community. It is all but certain that we are headed towards a tax increase on Main Street due to the state government, much like the federal government, continuing to spend too much. If the Commonwealth was going to spend over $50 billion, lawmakers could have reached this agreement in June when the budget was due. Instead, we arrive at the same destination, four months late, with little to show for along the way other than small business owners’ irritation and pain.

“The one shining star of the budget deal was our removal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. While this black cloud hanging over the Commonwealth’s small businesses has been removed, NFIB believes the Courts would have viewed RGGI as a tax and removed us from the initiative anyway.

“Small businesses continue to struggle with workforce and revenue issues. This budget deal does little to assist those in the midst of that struggle. Maybe one day the Commonwealth will get a balanced budget where revenues actually outpace expenditures. It won’t be this year, though.”

NFIB’s latest research shows that small business owners cite labor quality as their single most important business problem. Owners also reported lower optimism in October following lower sales and reduced profits.