Category: Pennsylvania State Taxes

No comments

ITEP Report: Tax Fairness in Pennsylvania

  By Pennsylvania State Taxes, Presentation

Every few years, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy releases its survey of taxes in the states, “Who Pays?” Click here to read the seventh edition, released on January 9, 2024.  A summary of the data for Pennsylvania is found below. This year’s report continues to tell the same story that we have seen for decades. Taxes in Pennsylvania are among the most upside-down in the entire country. The report shows that The lowest-income 20 percent of taxpayers face a state and local tax rate that is 152 percent higher than the top 1 percent of households. The average effective state and local tax rate is 15.1 percent for the lowest-income 20 percent of individuals and families, 11.4 percent for the middle 20 percent, and 6 percent for the top 1 percent. Pennsylvania has the highest tax rate on low-income families in the entire country at 15.1%. Pennsylvania has… Continue reading

No comments

Press Release: Taxes in Pennsylvania Are Upside-Down

  By Penn Policy Center, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Statement, Taxation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 10, 2024  Contact: Kirstin Snow at Penn Policy Center snow@pennpolicy.org or Jon Whiten at ITEP jon@itep.org. RELEASE: Pennsylvania’s Tax System Exacerbates Inequality, In-Depth National Study Finds State Has the 4th-most Regressive Tax Code in the Nation Harrisburg, PA — Pennsylvania’s tax system is upside-down, with the wealthy paying a far lower share of their income to taxes than low- and middle-income families. That’s according to the latest edition of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Who Pays?, the only distributional analysis of tax systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In sharing the data, Marc Stier said, “The new report from our national partner, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, shows that Pennsylvania has one of the most upside-down state and local tax systems in the country. We should be ashamed to live in a state with the highest rate of… Continue reading

No comments

Survey Results: Levels of Support for Higher Taxes on Profitable Corporations and Wealthy Individuals by PA House District

  By Pennsylvania State Taxes, Poll, Taxation

In November and December of 2022, Data for Progress conducted a national survey of registered voters to gauge voter support towards state action to hold profitable corporations and the wealthy accountable to pay their fair share of taxes. The national survey was then used to estimate opinion at the state level for Pennsylvania using a machine learning model trained on nationally representative survey responses linked to a commercial voter file. In addition, estimates were made of public support in each state House and Senate district. Click here for state-wide results. Perhaps surprisingly, the differences between PA House districts held by Democratic and Republican legislators are not all that great. Registered voters in both Democratic and Republican districts overwhelmingly support tax increases on profitable corporations and wealthy individuals. The highest support percentage in Democratic districts was 92%, the lowest was 81%. The average support percentage in Democratic districts was 86%. The… Continue reading

No comments

A Fair Share Tax for Pennsylvania–Updated for 2023

  By Diana Polson, Pennsylvania Budget, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Policy reports

By Mafc Stier and Diana Polson Pennsylvania has long suffered from a tax system that is both highly regressive, taking a larger share of income from low-income and moderate-income families than high-income families, and that does not raise sufficient revenue to meet the needs of Pennsylvanians. In the recent past, inadequate revenues have led to a structural budget deficit and will continue to do so in the near future. In turn, this has led to what we call a public investment deficit: a lack of funding for critical needs that undermines both opportunity and economic growth. Just one example of the public investment deficit in Pennsylvania is the recent decision by Commonwealth Court President Judge Jubelirer saying the state fails to meet its constitutional obligation to provide a “thorough and efficient” education to all K-12 school children. This paper puts forward the Fair Share Tax proposal, a major step toward… Continue reading

No comments

Make a PA Earned Income Tax Credit Part of the Budget

  By Inequality, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Taxation

To: Members and staff of the General Assembly, editorial board members, and political writers From: Marc Stier, Director and Diana Polson, Senior Policy Analyst, PA Budget and Policy Center Re: Tax Relief for Working Poor Pennsylvanians in the Next Budget Date: June 29, 2022 Some discussions about providing tax relief for low-income working Pennsylvanians appear to be a part of the current budget negotiations. We want to strongly encourage the General Assembly to take such action by instituting a state version of the federal earned income tax credit. This is especially imperative if the General Assembly is likely to cut corporate tax cuts now. If there are funds to cut taxes for many of the richest Pennsylvanians, there should be funds to cut taxes for low-income working Pennsylvanians. As we have extensively demonstrated, the PA tax system is unfair, with low-income families paying state and local taxes at twice the… Continue reading

No comments

Who Runs Harrisburg? You or The Corporate Elite?

  By Corporate Taxes, Minimum Wage, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Polling, Published Op-Eds

Originally published in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, June 29, 2022.  By Nick Pressley and Marc Stier Every rumor we hear about the state budget negotiations tells us that a reduction in the corporate net income tax (CNIT) rate is possible. It is unclear whether that corporate tax cut also includes some of Gov. Tom Wolf’s “add-back” provisions, which would make multinational corporations that currently pay nothing pay something. It appears that Republicans continue to oppose closing the Delaware loophole by enacting combined reporting. Every rumor we hear also says that raising the minimum wage may not be included because Republicans oppose it.  Are we talking about cutting corporate taxes because it is a good idea? And is raising the minimum wage less likely because it is a bad idea? I’ll come back to these questions below, but the short answers are “no” and “no.” If they are not bad ideas, then is it hard to raise the minimum wage and easier… Continue reading

No comments

Reply to the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce’s LTE about Corporate Taxes

  By Corporate Taxes, PBPC Blog posts, Pennsylvania State Taxes

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce has responded to our recent op-ed about corporate taxes with a letter to the editor and makes two points, to which I will reply. First, it says that the Delaware loophole was closed a number of years ago by legislation that created some of the add-backs Governor Wolf wants to put in place this year. Our answer: if that legislation really closed the Delaware loophole, then more add-backs and / or combined reporting wouldn’t have any effect and the Chamber would have no reason to oppose them. The proof that the Chamber is blowing smoke is that it opposes further efforts to close the Delaware loophole because its members know that the loophole is still open and closing it would make multinational corporations pay what they actually owe. The notion that combined reporting is complicated and would lead to lawsuits would be news to the… Continue reading

No comments

STATEMENT: It’s Not the Time or Way to Cut Corporate Taxes

  By Corporate Taxes, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Statements

Originally published by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, April 26, 2022.  Statement on HB 1960, which passed the PA House of Representatives today When the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was enacted, we warned that Republicans in Pennsylvania would use these funds—and the state surplus generated by the faster economic recovery the ARP created—to cut corporate taxes instead of helping Pennsylvanians deal with the effects of the pandemic. Sadly, today that is exactly what happened. The PA General Assembly has repeatedly failed to help Pennsylvanians who are still hurting from both the loss of income caused by business decline and the current inflation created by a rapid recovery and Russia’s war against Ukraine. The General Assembly has doggedly rejected Governor Wolf’s proposals to provide assistance to Pennsylvanians with low incomes or those who are having trouble affording child care or housing or who are struggling to pay back student loans.… Continue reading

No comments

Why Pennsylvania Needs a State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

  By Economic Justice, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Taxes, Policy reports

By Diana Polson and Marc Stier Originally published by KRC-PBPC here. If one thing has become clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that workers who do essential things like providing care for the sick, stocking shelves at grocery stores, and cleaning facilities to keep our buildings clean and safe are undervalued in our society. Despite their hard work, many Pennsylvanians earn such low wages that it remains difficult to pay for rent, food, childcare, transportation, and other necessities. We must raise wages and strengthen worker protections for low- and middle-income workers. In addition, there is another easy step Pennsylvania can take to support low-wage workers. That is a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which has been effective at reducing poverty in more than half the states across the country.  Continue reading