State Budget Tackles Root Causes of Economic Hardship, Solobay Says

Despite what he calls hurtful cuts to vulnerable Pennsylvanians, the state’s new budget passed late Friday contains important provisions intended to address the root of the state’s fiscal woes, state Sen. Tim Solobay said.

“The bottom line is jobs and we have taken aggressive steps to improve the economy and employment picture,” Solobay said. “Economic growth and the jobs that come with it should make future budgets easier on everyone.”

Friday night, the Senate passed the $27.66 billion budget that restores funding for higher education and reduces cuts to welfare. While the tax code section was approved, legislation is still needed to enact some of the initiatives.

The budget includes an aggressive plan to create a historic economic development project in Beaver County and tax incentives for a wide array of employers to create jobs.

Along with the tax credits required to close the deal for the construction of the $3 billion ethane “cracker” plant, the budget contains an expansion of the film tax credit to include its use in sound studios, and a more than doubling in the credit for hiring unemployed workers.

Lawmakers also adopted a “single-sales factor” for apportioning corporate net income taxes, finishing the shift from payroll and assets to sales when calculating business taxes. The change encourages employers to keep their manufacturing as well as their retail facilities in the state.

Other changes to the tax code allow the transfer of family farms to extended family without applying the inheritance tax, and provide credits to businesses that open up in renovated and preserved historic buildings.

“We have to continually respond to the changing economic landscape,” Solobay said. “We’re competing with other states and countries around the globe.  If we want to grow we have to adapt.”