New Year, New Session: PA Chamber Ready to Fight for Our Members in 2019
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
Happy Holidays! With December now nearly over, the PA Chamber is geared up to start 2019 with an aggressive pro-growth agenda. As we work to ensure that the legislature is aware of our members’ major advocacy goals before lawmakers are sworn in on New Year’s Day, we’re taking stock of what we’ve achieved on behalf of our broad-based membership during the session that just wrapped up.
Among the strongest achievements was a legislative fix to a state Supreme Court case that is bringing clarity and cost-savings to employers within the workers’ compensation system; and a bonus depreciation bill that helped resolve a major competitiveness hurdle for employers. You can read about the highs and lows of the past two years in our comprehensive 2017-18 End of Session Report.
With an eye toward 2019, our legislative agenda for the New Year is heavy on tax reform. Armed with facts in the Tax Foundation’s recent report on the Commonwealth’s business climate, the PA Chamber is making the case to lawmakers this coming session that Pennsylvania needs to implement tax reforms that will mirror reforms at the federal level. Chief among these goals is the reduction of our state’s Corporate Net Income Tax, which at 9.99 percent is among the highest effective rates in the nation and presents one of the largest hurdles for attracting new investment and creating jobs.
In a recent op-ed in Lancaster Online, PA Chamber President Gene Barr emphasizes the need for this and other long-overdue tax reforms while reflecting on Amazon’s recent decision to bring 50,000 new jobs and $5 billion in new investment to two areas outside of Pennsylvania. While the Keystone State has a lot going for it in terms of cost of living, geography, vast resources and other key assets, our tax structure has consistently led companies to invest and grow elsewhere – and that’s a trend we’re committed to stop in its tracks.