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Wilkes-Barre City Council asks for answers, more time in instituting municipal sewer authority

Lottery Numbers for Thursday, July 9

Pennsylvania&#8217;s Governor Tom Wolf has proposed significant reforms aimed at three goals for economic development and creating good-paying, middle-class jobs:&#8226; creating a pro-growth business climate;&#8226; building Pennsylvania&#8217;s manufacturing sector; and&#8226; creating workforce partnerships for economic success.Gov. Wolf&#8217;s proposed budget makes Pennsylvania a place where businesses will want to come, invest and grow through targeted investments in proven programs. This will support the efforts of private business to create jobs and build strong, stable communities.The current country-leading high corporate tax rates have inhibited business growth in Pennsylvania, and I have witnessed this firsthand.When working with site selectors, the Commonwealth fails to make the short list of states considered when companies are looking to relocate their businesses.The nearly 10 percent Corporate Net Income Tax rate induces sticker shock at the price of doing business in Pennsylvania, and companies look to other states offering a friendlier business climate.Thankfully, our governor has proven, first-hand experience in the private sector and understands what companies need to grow.Proposed budgetThis year&#8217;s proposed budget makes our corporate tax climate competitive and fair. The proposed budget will reduce the Corporate Net Income Tax by half and flip Pennsylvania&#8217;s ranking from the second highest rate (9.99 percent) to the fourth lowest (4.99 percent) within two years.It will also eliminate the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax once and for all, and closing loopholes through combined reporting to level the playing field for all Pennsylvania businesses.Gov. Wolf has also promised an investment in our infrastructure to support business growth through a $250 million investment in the Business in Our Sites (BOS) program.The BOS program allows the Commonwealth to prepare vacant or abandoned plots for development and enable the state to compete for business expansions and relocations.When a business identifies an opportunity to grow, it needs ready-to-build sites now, and does not have the luxury of waiting two years for a site to be ready.Pennsylvania has been missing development opportunities and the BOS program addresses this problem by providing patient capital to develop sites for businesses. This is a proven program that has leveraged $1.8 billion in private investment and created more than 18,000 jobs since 2004.With the governor&#8217;s investment, this program will create and retain even more.ManufacturingWe also need to bring Pennsylvania back to what it was built on, a thriving manufacturing sector.Last year the Commonwealth boasted nearly 15,000 manufacturing establishments employing 568,000 Pennsylvanians and accounting for 10 percent of the total workforce.The sector&#8217;s average annual compensation of $56,400 is 18 percent higher than non-manufacturing sectors.The budget includes major initiatives to build Pennsylvania&#8217;s manufacturing strength to create new, good-paying jobs by establishing a &#8220;Made in Pennsylvania Job Creation Program.&#8221; This program will distribute $5 million in tax credits to manufacturing companies that are creating good-paying, middle-class jobs.The budget additionally provides $5 million for a new initiative that combines the knowledge and experience of the state&#8217;s Industrial Resource Centers with the breaking technological advances of our higher education sector.Training gapGov. Wolf&#8217;s budget bridges the training gap through an increase in support for business-driven job training programs.According to a recent report, 82 percent of Pennsylvania manufacturers report a serious or moderate skills gap in their employees that negatively impact the companies&#8217; ability to expand with several high-paying, unfilled manufacturing jobs.Gov. Wolf&#8217;s budget supports proven strategies to increase the workforce pipeline by providing up to $8 million in funding to support the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania.The WEDnetPA program provides qualified employers with training dollars for new and existing employees through a unique partnership with community colleges, state system universities and other higher educational institutions.We need bold ideas such as these and smart investments to put our economy back on the fast track to prosperity. Gov. Wolf&#8217;s budget is a comprehensive plan that addresses the issues needed to move the Commonwealth forward. I am fully confident that Pennsylvania can be the best place in the country to do business.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dennis M. Davin Contributing Columnist </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Davin-Dennis-BW2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dennis M. Davin Contributing Columnist </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>Dennis M. DavinContributing Columnist</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Dennis M. Davin is Pennsylvania Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.</shirttailMeta></div>

Dennis Davin: Wolf’s budget puts Pennsylvania on right path