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Pennsylvania Businesses Face the Highest Taxes
A new study from the Tax Foundation finds that mature Pennsylvania businesses are the highest taxed in the nation. Newly established operations in the commonwealth are the second highest taxed, behind Hawaii.
The study evaluates the impact of corporate income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, local income taxes, gross receipts taxes, and unemployment compensation taxes. You can click here for the Pennsylvania profile, and read a story on the study in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The study looks at seven categories of businesses and the effective tax rate on each. The table below identifies the burden, and ranking among the 50 states, for each type of business studied.
| Pennsylvania Business Tax Costs | ||||||
| Newly established operations | Mature Operations | |||||
| Type of Firm | Total Effective Tax Rate | Tax Index | Tax Rank | Total Effective Tax Rate | Tax Index | Tax Rank |
| Capital-Intensive Manufacturing Operation | 6.1% | 53.1 | 9 | 6.1% | 48.4 | 5 |
| Labor-Intensive Manufacturing Operation | 11.8% | 100.7 | 26 | 9.1% | 78 | 15 |
| Call Center | 36.3% | 145.9 | 45 | 30.2% | 144 | 48 |
| Distribution Center | 59.5% | 164.5 | 48 | 48.0% | 156.5 | 49 |
| Corporate Headquarters, | 30.7% | 190.1 | 50 | 28.0% | 178.4 | 50 |
| Research and Development (R&D) Facility | 33.5% | 227.4 | 50 | 29.1% | 226.4 | 50 |
| Retail Store | 45.5% | 139.4 | 47 | 31.2% | 184.3 | 50 |
| Average | 145.9 | 49 | 145.1 | 50 | ||
| Source: Tax Foundation, “Location Matters”, www.taxfoundation.org | ||||||