What the Pennsylvania State Budget Means for Small Businesses

July 16, 2024

What the Pennsylvania State Budget Means for Small Businesses

On July 11^th, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed and Governor Shapiro signed the $47.6 billion 2024-25 state budget into law, ending the 11-day budget impasse. The spending plan is approximately $2.7 billion (6%) over last year’s spending plan. NFIB is happy to report that no new or increased taxes impacting the small business community were included in the final budget. Additionally, NFIB supported regulatory reform provisions that were incorporated into the state’s fiscal code. Specifically, the Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED) Program, containing a sweeping overhaul to expedite the permitting process utilized by DEP and county conservation districts, including:

Expedited Permit Review by a Third-Party: Applicants can utilize third-party entities approved by the state to expedite the review process for air, land, and water permits issued by DEP and county conservation districts.
Permit Application Tracking System: Applicants will be able to check the status of their permits online, including processing times, review dates, and estimated time remaining for each phase.
Increased Accountability for DEP: The department will be held accountable for costs incurred by permit applicants for a priority review for failure of permit decision within the allotted time period.

“The state budget included solid provisions for small businesses, and we are pleased that no tax increases were included,” said Melissa Morgan, NFIB Pennsylvania Assistant State Director. “Now that the spending plan is finalized, we will focus our efforts on advocating for policies to strengthen the economy and supporting pro-small business candidates for the upcoming election.” The budget also included the following:

$740 million allocation to the state’s rainy-day fund.
Incremental increase of Net Operating Loss (NOL) threshold to 80% by 2026.
Continuation of corporate net income tax decrease.
K-12 education funding increased $1 billion.
$5 million in new funding to the Attorney General’s office to improve the safety of our communities including $2.7 million to combat organized retail crime.

More information on the 2024-25 enacted state budget can be found here. The Pennsylvania General Assembly will return on September 16.

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