HARRISBURG, Pa., June 21, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- In reaction to today's release of the "Interim Report" of the Pennsylvania Business Tax Reform Commission, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry thanked the commissioners for their work but expressed serious reservations over the commission's scope and the report's content.
"The members of the governor's tax commission dedicated significant time and energy over the last several months, and that service should be commended. As we feared, however, the constraints placed on them by the governor's Executive Order prohibited true, substantive recommendations for a more competitive business tax structure," said Jim Welty, PA Chamber vice president of Legislative and Corporate Affairs.
A letter sent to Revenue Secretary Greg Fajt by a number of commissioners reflects many of the same concerns the PA Chamber raised in its letter to the governor three months ago. The common concerns include the short time-frame, the narrow charge of revenue neutrality within the major corporate taxes, and the lack of dynamic modeling. These constraints severely limit the commission's ability to effect true, meaningful change.
"The chamber's appointee and the other commissioners have been put in an impossible situation because of the limitations imposed by the order," Welty said. "Under their current charge, there's simply little they can do to improve Pennsylvania's economic competitiveness. In fact, if mandatory combined reporting and a new tax on small business are adopted, the effect on the Commonwealth's ability to maintain and attract jobs in today's global marketplace would be hindered."
Welty said despite the ongoing concerns of the business community, the administration has an opportunity to reconstitute a more comprehensive charge for the commission.
"We urge the governor to adopt the changes to the commission's scope, as outlined in the letter to Secretary Fajt. Without these changes, the administration loses an opportunity to consider true, meaningful recommendations to our tax structure that would allow for job creation and economic development."
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association and the fastest growing state chamber in the United States, with more than 10,000 members covering all 67 counties. More information is available on the Chamber's website at www.pachamber.org.
The PA Chamber of Business and Industry logo is available at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=353