Pennsylvania Governor Corbett's Budget Encourages Job Growth

BEAVER, Pa., Feb. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Corbett today discussed his 2013-14 budget while visiting a Beaver County business, declaring that thanks to two years of fiscal restraint, Pennsylvania is now on a solid financial footing for the future.

"I believe Pennsylvania's best days are ahead,'' Corbett said. "We have worked together to bring spending under control. We have worked together to reduce taxes, putting more money into the pockets of our hard-working taxpayers and small business owners."

The governor's proposed budget works to solve Pennsylvania's transportation and pension problems with common-sense reforms, continues to invest historic levels of funding for education, responsibly increases funding into certain areas of the budget because of past fiscal discipline and does not raise taxes on Pennsylvania businesses or working families.

Corbett's proposed budget also includes a bold business tax reform plan that focuses on improving Pennsylvania's tax climate by reducing tax burdens that inhibit job creation and economic growth.

"We are encouraging business growth by phasing out counter-productive taxes like the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax," Corbett said. "The state already taxes businesses income and sales, but Pennsylvania was one of the only places that taxed businesses on what they owned, including what they couldn't sell. That doesn't encourage growth.

"We are also seeking to phase out a tax on business loans. Any small employer knows that a line of credit is often a lifeline, the thing that carries them over to the next business quarter. Yet, Pennsylvania taxes these loans. That's a job-killer and it has to change.

"Right now, the state's corporate net tax income is the highest in the nation.  When a company is looking to relocate, they see that rate and start looking elsewhere. We need to reduce the state's Corporate Net Income Tax."

By reducing taxes, lowering government barriers to job creation and supporting job placement and training for Pennsylvania's work force, Governor Corbett's proposed budget encourages businesses to move here, grow here and hire here in Pennsylvania.

"It simply makes sense that the less we tax, the more a business can re-invest. They can re-invest in new equipment and most of all new employees," Corbett said.

In addition to business tax reform, this year's proposed budget aims to add to the over 100,000 new private sector jobs created since Governor Corbett took office by:

• Implementing PA BIZ Online, an upgrade of the Open for Business website, to guide potential entrepreneurs in establishing new business in Pennsylvania.
• Expanding the Children's Specialized Services program to assist children who are blind or visually impaired, and their families, with federal vocational rehabilitation funding.
• Continuing the Project SEARCH program for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities so they can transition from school to work.
• Implementing the comprehensive job matching system, providing employment data, including current and projected job openings, and eventually help employers find qualified candidates for their open positions.
• Creating recruitment hubs to help businesses find the skilled workers they need.
• Continuing to combine PA CareerLink and the Employment Advancement and Retention Network, eliminating duplication of services and better deliver employment and training services.
• Streamlining the workers' compensation system by improving care for injured workers and reducing medical costs for employers.
• Continuing support of Keystone Works, encouraging businesses to provide on-the-job training for new workers, while allowing workers to continue receiving benefits as they learn a new skill.

"We didn't create our success by raising taxes. We created it by expanding opportunities,'' Corbett said.

C3 Controls is a Pennsylvania based company that manufactures a broad range of standard industrial control products. Launching 35 years ago from inside a Beaver County home, C3 Controls has expanded its product portfolio to now include over twenty lines of electrical controls products.

For more information, visit www.pa.gov.

Media contact:  Kelli Roberts, 717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor