A group of Republican state senators announced Monday the launch of the Prioritize PA: Small Businesses initiative that includes a five-bill package designed to aid small businesses that are struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Sens. Ryan P. Aument (R-36), Camera Bartolotta (R-46), Judy Ward (R-30), and Kristen Phillips-Hill (R-28) highlighted the legislative package that will provide immediate financial and tax relief for smaller employers and regulatory reforms for small businesses while speaking at a news conference at the Lititz Springs Inn & Spa and The Bulls Head Public House in Lititz.
“As we celebrate moving toward herd immunity, reopening our economy, and returning to a sense of normalcy again, we must not forget our small businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, that have suffered immensely throughout this pandemic,” Aument said. “The punitive mitigation efforts from this Administration have unfairly and disproportionately harmed our once thriving small business community, and it is my hope that the bills in this package will provide both the immediate and long-term relief that they so desperately need.”
The proposed five-bill package, if enacted, would require the Pennsylvania Treasurer to offer no interest loans to businesses shut down by Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency orders; establish a temporary business improvement tax credit program; provide temporary relief through a three-year Net Operating Loss option to offset earnings from previous or future years against current year losses; waive the state fees for retail food and liquor licenses for restaurants and bars; and allow businesses impacted by Wolf’s restrictions to deduct their property taxes from their state corporate income tax or personal income tax liability.
“Many small businesses that have been profitable for years are now seeing losses that are entirely due to COVID-19. Small shops and mom-and-pop operations do not have massive amounts of savings; they are holding on by a thread,” Ward said. “We cannot allow these families to lose everything they have worked so hard to build.”
The Prioritize PA initiative will also include Senate Bill 368, sponsored by Bartolotta and Ward, which seeks to update state tax laws. The bill would permit businesses to take Net Operating Losses against future years for up to 20 years and temporarily allow small businesses to “carry back” losses to previous tax years. This would allow smaller businesses in the Commonwealth to benefit from the same tax strategies afforded to their larger competitors and provide the same immediate relief offered on the federal level.
“We have heard from so many of our small business owners about the devastation caused by the pandemic and Governor Wolf’s heavy-handed response to it,” Bartolotta said. “Our bill provides the kind of immediate relief our smaller employers need to level the playing field and help them recover and rebuild.”
For regulatory relief, Phillips-Hill’s legislation, Senate Bill 32, would provide comprehensive reform to help small businesses cut through excessive regulatory burden created by state government agencies. The bill would create an Independent Office of the Repealer, which would help identify and eliminate outdated or repetitious regulations.
Senate Bill 32 would also provide greater legislative oversight for proposed economically significant regulations as well as greater transparency and accessibility to the regulatory process in every state government agency.
“Regulations are a self-made problem that are in part the result of choices made by the legislative branch of government. As a result, state agencies develop rules and regulations that place new burdens on small businesses,” Phillips-Hill said. “We must reverse this trend of growing regulations and the negative impact that it has on our economy.”
The Prioritize PA: Small Businesses initiative has the support of several statewide business leaders and industry groups, including the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA).
“There are many challenges that entrepreneurs face as they begin to recover and reopen to full capacity,” PMA President and CEO David N. Taylor said. “But with every challenge comes an opportunity to rethink and better support our many industries. We certainly cannot tax our way out of this unfortunate situation, but with robust and sustained economic growth, our businesses can recover, our citizens can obtain meaningful work, and our state revenues will reflect this success.”
Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO John Longstreet noted the impact that COVID-19 has had on businesses of all sizes throughout the Commonwealth. “In an effort to rebuild our state’s economy and boost our once vibrant small businesses, the Prioritize Pennsylvania: Small Businesses package is a coordinated approach that will not only help us get through the end of this pandemic, but will also make significant reforms to improve and revitalize the state’s economic climate to strengthen our small businesses.”