State Senator Would Halt Tax Code Change

A measure in the Pennsylvania Senate would stop a 2009 business tax code amendment before it goes into effect.

The upcoming change to the state’s Sales and Use Tax would double the amount of business tax collections in a year, requiring businesses to file for taxes twice a month.

Senator Jim Ferlo says while that’s not a problem for big companies with plenty of resources, small companies that do their own accounting will see a sharp rise in “administrative costs.”

Ferlo says his new bill to stop this change would maintain the current method of filing taxes once a month.

“It does mean that the Revenue Department has to wait longer, longer being a month’s period of time, in order to receive the receipts of that revenue for investment and for obligations the state has incurred,” says Ferlo. “We are continuing to be in a financial dilemma, but I don’t know that that burden should rest solely on the shoulders of the small business community.”

The Highland Park Democrat says he’s heard outcry from several small businesses in his district, like The Original Mattress Factory and 43rd Street Concrete. His bill is currently in committee.