As Pennsylvania’s leading advocate for employers and economic growth, the PA Chamber is excited to begin 2024 as the Statewide Voice of Business across all industries and all sizes, working to make the Commonwealth stand out as the ideal place to invest, create jobs, and build a competitive future.

We ended 2023 with several wins on behalf of the state’s business leaders. Working with lawmakers, local chambers, our members, and other stakeholders, the PA Chamber scored victories for you and your fellow employers, including:

 

 

 

• A bipartisan expansion of the childcare tax credit that will encourage more people to get back into the workforce. To receive the credit, individuals must have eligible childcare expenses up to $3,000 for one child and $6,000 for two or more children. The credit is 35 percent of eligible expenses for someone making $15,000 or less, which decreases to 20 percent if the person makes $43,000 or more. Before this change, the credit was 30 percent of the federal credit.
• Pennsylvania’s Corporate Net Income Tax rate dropped another 50 basis points and now stands at 8.49 percent, continuing its scheduled annual phase-down until the rate is scheduled to hit 4.99 percent by 2031.
• Continued progress on permitting reform with the creation of a new online money-back guarantee system for state permits, certifications, and licenses (pa.gov); which follows an Executive Order made by the Shapiro Administration last January that directs state agencies to review permitting times and expedite those processes.
• Expansion of the successful Clean Slate Law (Act 36) to individuals with certain low-level, non-violent felony charges. The PA Chamber supported this bipartisan legislation as part of a multi-tiered workforce development effort to encourage reentrants to find employment and allow employers to access previously untapped talent across Pennsylvania.

In 2024, the PA Chamber is advocating for additional pro-growth permitting reforms that are part of our comprehensive permitting reform strategy; including support for S.B. 350, which awaits a full Senate vote. Senate Bill 350 would codify the governor’s Executive Order into law

and make additional reforms to streamline and expedite Pennsylvania’s permitting process. We’re also prioritizing tax reforms to build a more business-friendly climate in Pennsylvania, including improving the Commonwealth’s treatment of Net Operating Losses (as we are one of only two states that currently cap NOL deductions  below the federal limit – a huge red flag for would-be investors.)