Business group praises Pa. budget

Business advocates are hailing Pennsylvania’s budget as one that finally forces the state to live within its means.

Gene Barr, of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, said business interests are pleased they won’t be paying more in state taxes.

“Businesses simply could not afford tax increases this year,” said Barr. “And after years of significant increases in growth in the state’s budget and after years of a budget that grew quicker than our ability to pay for it, we are happy to see fiscal responsibility.”

The chamber also supports changes that make it more difficult for school districts to bypass voters when increasing state property taxes. Barr says the law ensures that fiscal restraint at the state level is matched with restraint at the local level.

Among the top priorities of the business community this fall are legal measures, such as one that allows hospital administrators and doctors to express regret over the way a medical procedure ends, without their words being used against them in a courtroom.

The chamber also supports continued lowering the corporate net income tax.