January 10, 2006
It is critical for all marketers to immediately contact Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and all of the members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to express your opposition to a proposal to tax all advertising in the state. Contact information is available at www.governor.state.pa.us and www.legis.state.pa.us
Pennsylvania lawmakers and the Governor have been discussing property tax relief for months. In late December, the House passed a bill that increases the personal income tax rate and extends the current 6% sales tax to a number of business services, including advertising, management consulting and public relations. That bill, Senate Bill 854, is now back before the Senate.
The Senate Special Session Committee on Legislation held a hearing on the House tax proposal on January 4th. There was considerable industry opposition to any new tax on business services. Attached is a copy of the letter ANA sent to all Senators opposing any tax on advertising. We are working closely with member companies and local industry groups in Pennsylvania to defeat this bad idea.
It’s possible that the Senate Committee on Legislation may hold another hearing on the House tax bill in the next couple of weeks; we will keep you informed. In the meantime, public discussion of the property tax relief bill has largely “gone dark” as lawmakers and the Governor’s office meet privately to discuss the legislation.
Please contact the Governor and members of both the House and Senate to express your opposition to a tax on advertising. The House bill passed on a relatively close vote of 103-92 and many members of the House may be experiencing some “buyers remorse” for their vote to tax more business services.
Click here for some talking points you may want to use in your contacts.
If you have any questions or more information about the tax debate in Pennsylvania, please contact Keith Scarborough, ANA Vice President for State Government Relations at kscarborough@ana.net or (202) 296-1883.
Thank you for your assistance.