Report: Pennsylvania improving in simplifying taxes

Tax codes are not usually associated with simplicity. But, according to a recent report, some states are improving in making their codes a little less Da Vinci-esque and more business friendly.

Pennsylvania moved up four spots from last year in the State Business Tax Climate Index, a considerable leap in the rankings, from 28th to 24th in overall tax climate. The report, released Wednesday by the Tax Foundation, determined the rankings according to 100 variables in five tax categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance.

“Substantive state tax reform has gained a lot of momentum over the past few years,” Tax Foundation Director of State Projects Scott Drenkard said in a release. “The stagnation of our federal tax code means that policymakers are turning to state codes to boost their national and global competitiveness. The state codes are ripe for reform and it’s encouraging to see so many states taking action.”

The report cited Pennsylvania’s phasing out of its capital stock tax as part of the state’s improvement. The state rose six spots in the property tax structure rankings to 32nd.

The state had strong showings in individual tax income structure (17) and sales tax structure (20). In November, the state Senate voted against a proposed bill that would nix real estate taxes but increase state sales and personal income taxes. The vote was 25-24.

Wyoming ranked first overall on the index, while New Jersey ranked last.

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 6:27 PM with the headline "Report: Pennsylvania improving in simplifying taxes."