Sen. Joe Pittman: You can’t have family-sustaining jobs without employers

After so many years of Gov. Tom Wolf’s efforts to tie real, growth-producing tax reform to anti-competitive tax tricks, legislative Republicans were able to convince him, at the end of his term, to have a straight-up conversation about making some pro-growth adjustments to our state’s tax code.

Thanks to the General Assembly’s Republican majorities, Wolf’s spending these past eight years has been restrained, and, as a result, Pennsylvania found itself with a significant budget surplus this past June that allowed us to take some very significant, pro-growth steps for this commonwealth.

One of the most significant steps is the phase-down of the state’s employer-crushing, job-killing, too-high corporate net income tax (CNIT).

Reducing the CNIT will go a long way toward keeping and growing the employers we already have, attracting more to Pennsylvania and truly make Pennsylvania highly competitive, certainly among our neighboring states in the Northeast, but also with every state in the country.

We also made changes to the state’s tax code that will be very helpful for our mom-and-pop businesses.

More than 99% of Pennsylvania businesses are small businesses, and those 1.1 million small businesses employ 2.5 million people, which is 46.3% of all Pennsylvania employees. They are the backbone of our economy.

I represent a very rural district and I’m very proud of the family-owned businesses that really drive our economy.

Under the new law, Pennsylvania will mirror federal law by recognizing “like-kind” exchanges for state tax deferral when property is exchanged for similar property. For businesses, especially smaller ones, this stands to lower their tax burden on real estate transactions, and this will encourage more investment in the state.

Additionally, limits for expense deductions are being raised to mirror federal law, which will make it easier for employers to buy equipment and to invest, which promotes job growth.

We seem to forget that excessive taxation of income discourages investment and depresses the economy, sinking all boats. We should be looking at ways, as former President Ronald Reagan used to say, to create a rising tide to lift all boats.

But we’re not only looking at tax changes.

For years, struggling family businesses, local employers and major corporations have all said the same thing: Pennsylvania’s regulatory landscape is burdensome, confusing and restrictive.

Increasing regulations handcuffs our employers and puts the brakes on growth, reducing the number of available good-paying jobs and forcing too many people into low-paying jobs for too long.

The commonwealth’s regulatory process is skewed in favor of the governor, and Wolf has on several occasions used that advantage to skirt the legislative process by proposing regulatory changes he knows would never win General Assembly approval in legislative form.

That’s why we passed legislation to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to give the General Assembly the ability to reject burdensome proposed regulations without the approval of the governor. If approved again in the 2023-24 legislative session, the question will be put on the ballot for voters to decide, though the governor has sued to prevent voters from ever having that chance.

If we can make this regulatory process change, it would help rein in any governor and prevent such things as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative from ever getting to the point where they could drastically impact our employers and the families that depend on them for jobs.

It’s a simple fact: You can’t have family-sustaining jobs without employers.

Sen. Joe Pittman, a Republican, is chairman of the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee and vice chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee. He represents Armstrong, Indiana and parts of Butler and Westmoreland counties.