Pennsylvania Representatives Dave Reed and Eugene DePasquale rolled out legislation today that would take a first step towards closing corporate tax loopholes in Pennsylvania.
Corporate tax loopholes have been a problem for a long time in Pennsylvania. They don’t create jobs but do drain needed resources from good schools, health care and infrastructure.
Pennsylvania Representatives Dave Reed and Eugene DePasquale rolled out legislation today that would take a first step towards closing corporate tax loopholes in Pennsylvania.
Corporate tax loopholes have been a problem for a long time in Pennsylvania. They don’t create jobs but do drain needed resources from good schools, health care and infrastructure.
Representatives Reed, a Republican, and DePasquale, a Democrat, deserve credit for recognizing this is a problem and taking steps to address it.
The bill, however, takes a limited approach and leaves many loopholes open for companies to exploit. It should be strengthened to ensure that big profitable corporations cannot use other artificial means to shift profits out of state and dodge taxes.
Matthew Gardner of Citizens for Tax Justice tells Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Joe DiStefano that combined reporting would be a better approach to closing loopholes. Under combined reporting, corporate net income tax would be assessed against income earned in Pennsylvania from a parent company and all of its related businesses.
As Gardner says:
Even if you’re successful in closing one [loophole], you’re doing nothing to stop the emergence of additional loopholes. Combined reporting ends the Whack-a-Mole game by taking away the incentive for companies to artificially shift income from one state to another.
Pennsylvania businesses are at a competitive disadvantage when multistate corporations are able to game the tax system. The Reed/DePasquale bill takes a step toward leveling the playing field for all businesses in the commonwealth, but more needs to be done.