HARRISBURG – Pennsylvanians have consistently identified the economy as one of the top issues influencing their choice in the 2022 governor’s race.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee, and state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Republican who represents Franklin County, agree that Pennsylvania needs to cut red tape, lower business taxes and direct more funds to roads and bridges. the state.
As governor, Mastriano says he would focus on restoring Pennsylvania’s status as a “manufacturing powerhouse” and work to bring tens of thousands of “high-paying blue-collar jobs” to the state.
Shapiro argues that Mastriano’s views on social issues, including his support for banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, would cost state jobs.
At a recent candidate forum hosted by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shapiro said Mastriano’s positions on abortion, marriage equality and climate change “would make it difficult for every employer in this room to attract the kind of talent we have.” need.”
In June, the CEO of Duolingo, a Pittsburgh-based technology company, said the company would have to grow elsewhere if Pennsylvania made abortion illegal.
Business taxes
For years, Pennsylvania had the second-highest corporate net income tax rate in the US, and lawmakers in Harrisburg couldn’t agree on a way to lower it. Business leaders complained that the high tax rate prevented Pennsylvania from attracting businesses from other states and stifled job growth.
This year the stagnation is over. Wolf and state lawmakers agreed to lower the tax rate by one percentage point starting in January; then it will continue to drop 0.5 percentage points each year until it reaches 4.99% in 2031. That would make Pennsylvania’s tax rate the ninth lowest in the nation, compared to other current rates, according to the Tax Foundation, at Washington, DC think tank.
Mastriano and Shapiro support the change, but want to see the tax rate cut further and faster. Shapiro says it should drop to 4 percent by 2025. Mastriano wants to cut it to 2.4 percent in 2026, or 2030 if lawmakers don’t agree to cut it faster. Mastriano’s plan would make Pennsylvania’s tax rate the lowest in the country, according to a comparison of state rates by the Tax Foundation in July.
The tax cut the General Assembly passed this year, combined with other tweaks to the tax code, will cost the state $202 million in lost revenue next fiscal year, according to a legislative analysis. Cutting it further would cost even more.
A spokesman for Shapiro’s campaign said the tax cut could be offset by Pennsylvania’s billions of dollars in surplus and that lower business taxes would lead to significant economic growth, increasing state tax revenue by general
Mastriano told Spotlight PA in response to written questions that the tax cut would bring new businesses and workers to the state, so the revenue loss would be “negligible.”
Regulation
Another point of agreement between the two candidates: Pennsylvania needs to cut red tape that businesses encounter when dealing with state government.
Mastriano plans to eliminate at least 55,000 state regulations in his first 100 days in office. He has also said he would work with the General Assembly on legislation that would automatically revise all regulations costing more than $1 million and eliminate two regulations for any new regulations created.
Mastriano also says he would make the state’s permitting process more transparent by signing legislation that would create an application tracking system, allow third-party reviews of backlog decisions and “approved” permits that aren’t issued. decide within 45 days.
Shapiro has spoken of the need for state government to develop a “yes mentality” when working with businesses. “Too often the attitude of state government is ‘no, you can’t,’ and we have to turn that around,” he said in an interview with PennLive’s editorial board earlier this month.
Shapiro says he would create a “one-stop shop” in the governor’s office to help businesses navigate the process of applying for permits, licenses and state grants. On his first day in office, he plans to sign an executive order that would require state agencies to give applicants a deadline to respond; if the agency does not respond in time, the application fee will be refunded.