Speaker Turzai Opposes Wolf’s Tech Tax
HARRISBURG - House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) issued the following statement regarding the proposed tax on computer services in Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2017-18:
“The governor’s budget proposal this year includes more than $1 billion in new and higher taxes on the citizens of Pennsylvania. Among his tax proposals, he proposes an expansion of the sales tax to include data processing, hosting and related services; custom computer programing services; computer system design services; computer facilities management services; and other computer related services.
“The governor’s proposal for a tech tax is not new. A similar tax was adopted in 1991 under Gov. Robert Casey, but was repealed in 1997 under Gov. Tom Ridge. It was a job killer then, and it would be a job killer today.
“According to the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s 2016 State of the Industry Report, technology and related companies in the 13-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania employ 302,535 individuals, comprising 24 percent of the area’s workforce. Their combined payroll is $22 billion annually, representing more than 35 percent of the region’s total wages, which is at a record high.
“Pennsylvania has seen tremendous growth in the technology sector over the past two decades. These are good, family sustaining jobs that could easily be moved out of state.
“Many of us oppose Gov. Wolf’s tech tax, along with his other tax increase proposals. That is why the House passed a budget on April 4 that actually reduces spending from the current fiscal year.”
Representative Mike Turzai
Speaker of the House
28th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
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