Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signed legislation providing COVID-19-related extensions for tax return filing but vetoed a bill authorizing a petrochemical tax credit.
Wolf on March 27 vetoed H.B. 1100, which would create a nonrefundable tax credit of 47 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas used in the manufacturing of petrochemicals or fertilizer. Companies would need to make an investment of $450 million and create 800 jobs to be eligible for the credit, which would extend through December 31, 2050.
The legislation was passed with a veto-proof majority and a veto override is expected, but Wolf expressed concerns with a lack of analysis on the effects of the bill, which has not had a hearing or been analyzed by the state Independent Fiscal Office.
A fiscal note on an earlier version of the bill estimated tax credits of $22 million per manufacturing plant per year, up to a total of $660 million per plant over the 30-year period.
On Twitter, Sen. John Yudichak (I), a major proponent of H.B. 1100, blasted Wolf’s decision:
The veto of House Bill 1100 places [Wolf] on the side of anti-job, radical environmentalists who have maliciously misrepresented the facts on this pro-worker, pro-jobs piece of legislation and places the governor’s policies squarely in opposition to legislation that has the potential to attract thousands of prevailing wage jobs and billions of dollars in private investment to Pennsylvania when we need jobs more than ever.
Wolf signed several pieces of legislation on March 27, including H.B. 1232, which provides emergency deadline extensions for state and local taxes.
The bill extends the 2019 state individual income tax return deadline, as well as the 2020 first- and second- quarter estimated return filing and tax payment deadlines, to July 15. Interest and penalties will be waived if the return and payment are received by that date.
H.B. 1232 also returns control over the Enhanced Revenue Collection Account (ERCA) to the General Assembly. The ERCA program funds additional staff to increase the Department of Revenue’s scrutiny of returns requesting refunds and to initiate additional audits, enhanced compliance, and collections.
Wolf also signed H.B. 1578, which requires planned communities, cooperatives, and condominiums to disclose fees in their public offering statements, and allows corrective amendments to bylaws for these organizations.