Harrisburg Week in Review

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Educational Improvement Tax, supporters rallied behind the Capitol. They were joined by several legislators and PDE Secretary Tomalis to touts the successes of the EITC and to call for enactment of further school choice in the form of SB 1.

The House Professional Licensure Committee conducted a public hearing on HB 646. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery), amends Act 48 of 1993 gives the 29 licensing boards and commissions under the Bureau of Professional & Occupational Affairs to expunge a disciplinary record of a licensee upon written application to the board or commission. The expungement would only apply to minor violations. The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants testified in support of the legislation.

The Department of Revenue released an analysis showing that companies engaged in and related to natural gas drilling activities in Pennsylvania have paid more than $1.1 billion in state taxes since 2006. Those taxes came on top of the billions of dollars of infrastructure investments, royalty payments and permit fees paid by the industry. The Revenue Department’s analysis, which breaks out tax payments from oil and gas companies and their affiliates through April 2011, indicates that 857 of these companies have already paid $238.4 million in capital stock/foreign franchise tax, corporate net income tax, sales/use tax and employer withholding to the state in 2011.