Rendell on PA business taxes: We're #26!
Pennsylvania ranks middle of the pack for business taxes; NJ is among the worst, Delaware among the best, says the Tax Foundation
My Inquirer colleague Amy Worden in Harrisburg tells me Gov. Rendell plans to brag today about Pennsylvania's ranking in the yearly Tax Foundation review of state "business tax climate." PA ranks: 26 out of 50, which from the point of view of the anti-tax people puts us in the bottom half. Read the 60-page Tax Foundation report here.
How could Rendell brag about such a mediocre distinction? It's less strange when you check out the map on Page 2. Turns out PA is nearly surrounded by states that rank among the 10 worst for high business and business owner taxes: New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland, and near-worst-10 contender West Virginia.
The exception, as usual, is corporate-friendly Delaware, which, despite its surviving progressive income tax, still ranks in the Top 10 for business-friendly low taxes. Though that hasn't noticeably cut Delaware's unemployment rate this recession, or stopped its factories from closing (Valero, GM, Chrysler) or its banks from laying off workers (BofA), which raises questions about the Tax Foundation's assumptions.