State Representative Responds to Budget Cuts
One of Erie's legislators isn't happy.
I can't say I'm shocked by this; in my experience, I've decided that if Pennsylvania were a person who wanted to lose a quick 10 pounds, they'd cut off their own leg below the knee.
Yes, I'm talking about the proposed cuts to the Pennsylvania Research and Development Tax Credit - a credit that gives small businesses a 20 percent tax credit on research and development expenditures - and the Keystone Innovation Zone program, which grants new businesses a tax credit up of up to 50% of their revenue each year for up to five years.
Without programs like the Keystone Innovation Zone, many small businesses across Pennsylvania wouldn't have been able to grow their companies as quickly as they have, nor would they have been able to help positively affect the area's economy in what has - for what seems like forever - been in a recession. Without these resources, the likelihood of continued growth and success for the Commonwealth's small businesses could be in serious jeopardy.
In an email earlier today, Ryan Bizzarro explained his position on the matter.
"I have long been a champion of small businesses in Erie, and will continue to do all that I can to make sure they're given the resources they need to thrive," he said. "That's why I voted AGAINST legislation that would suspend important assistance to these organizations over the next few years. Pennsylvania may be facing a massive budget deficit, but making hasty decisions – resulting in cuts to crucial programs – isn't the way to solve it. We need to make sure all options are on the table when it comes to closing the roughly $1.7 BILLION deficit the majority party and this administration have created."
Kudos to Bizzarro for being on the right side of this issue; let's hope the rest of the legislature gets the message before we find ourselves hobling around on one foot, wondering why we're walking only in circles.
Read the original article here:
http://www.eriereader.com/article/pa-house-of-representatives-about-to-cripple-small-businesses-in-our-area
