U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says it is time to rebuild the outdated federal tax code
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, October 29, 2012
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — It’s been more than 25 years since the federal government took a long hard look at the tax code, and Pennsylvania’s Sen. Pat Toomey says it’s time to rebuild it from scratch. He said 1986 was “the last time we looked at really, really making improvements to our tax code, and in the meantime it’s been littered with all kinds of debris that Congress has thrown in it.” Toomey spoke to members of the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg recently, taking questions on multiple topics, from the election to the economy. He didn’t shy away from lending his support to GOP counterparts Gov. Mitt Romney and Senate hopeful Tom Smith. But Toomey, a former president of tax-reform interest group Club For …
A "Mandate Study Task Force" is wrapping up a report on what can be done to ease state pressure on local municipalities in Pa.
- GOVERNMENT
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania has thousands of laws, and about 6,500 of them tell local governments what to do. Local government officials often cite the “mandates” when they talk about out-of-control budget increases, about keeping the burden off the local property taxpayer. But state officials will consider ways to keep the mandates to a minimum, or even how much they’re telling local governments to spend. Pennsylvania municipalities launched on push back on mandates earlier this year. The state Senate this fall will hear proposed reforms from the Local Government Commission’s Mandate Study Task Force, a group made up of state lawmakers and municipal representatives. The commission is finishing up a report…
Dana Grubb
1:20 pm on Monday, August 6, 2012
Good point, James. We also need fewer state representatives, which along with their corresponding support staff reductions would mean huge cost savings. Getting back to the study, it's long overdo. However, it's ironic that the one example citted involving public notification in a print publication, is one that they feel should be addressed. Pennsylvania taxpayers don't need less transparency at … more ›