On Wednesday, July 2, Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law (Act 32 of 2008) a long-anticipated Earned Income Tax collection reform measure.

Having played a key role in the effort to improve local tax collection in the Commonwealth, the PA Chamber was among the groups that were invited to participate in the official bill-signing ceremony.

The PA Chamber has been working with the Department of Community and Economic Development for the past four years to institute reforms to Pennsylvania's fragmented local tax collection system. The new law will ease the withholding burdens on employers by reducing the number of tax collectors from 560 to 69; streamlining the system and creating uniform rules.

Of major importance to the business community, the law will allow employers with operations throughout the state to remit to a single tax collector in the county where their operation is based.
This legislative victory means that companies such as Altoona-based Sheetz, which has convenience stores in 52 Pennsylvania counties and works with 270 tax collectors, will remit to just one tax collector.

The PA Chamber thanks DCED Secretary Dennis Yablonsky and his staff for their efforts to advance local tax collection reform, as well as the bipartisan group of state lawmakers who supported the measure.

• Earned Income Tax reform implementation timetable
• Earned Income Tax reform frequently asked questions