Legislation to simplify tax code passes Pennsylvania House

House Bill 199, HB 285 and HB 333 each passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday and now head to the Senate for consideration.

“Small businesses have a track record of being Pennsylvania’s job creators and economic engines. But they have been devastated by pandemic-related closures and supply chain disruptions,” PA House Majority Caucus Chairman Rep. George Dunbar (R-Westmoreland). “Simplifying the tax code will be a meaningful way to help them, and Pennsylvania’s overall economy, continue to recover.”

HB 285 would permit the deferral of taxation on a lump-sum distribution from Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP). The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), would put the state on par with the rest of the nation and allow certain business owners who sell stock to an ESOP to defer capital gains taxes collected at the sale of the business.

“The purpose of my legislation is to increase the incentive for family-owned businesses and other employers to sell their business to an ESOP rather than outsiders whose intentions and the fate of current employees are nearly always unknown,” Rep. Metcalfe said earlier this month.

As seen in Pennsylvania Business Report.