PBPC Hosts 2009 Budget Summit

More than 70 people joined the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center for its 2009 Budget Summit Thursday, February 26. The event featured presentations on the state and federal budgets, federal economic recovery plan, and what it all means for Pennsylvania, as well as workshops on reducing poverty and understanding tax loopholes. Highlights included:

- Kris Cox, Research Assistant with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C., discussing the federal budget and economic recovery plan. (Download "Federal Budget - Kris Cox")

- Michael Wood, Research Director for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, discussing the state budget with a presentation titled "2009-10 State Budget: Even with Stimulus, a Difficult Year Ahead." (Download "2009-10 State Budget - Michael Wood")

- Donna Cooper, Secretary of the Governor's Office of Policy and Planning, giving an overview of how Pennsylvania will benefit from federal fiscal relief included in the economic recovery plan. She also fielded questions from the audience.

Two workshops were held in the afternoon, one titled "Taking on Poverty: What States Are Doing to Eliminate Poverty," the other, "REITS, PICs, Discounts, and Rebates: How Tax Loopholes Impact Tax Revenue and Tax Fairness."

The session on reducing poverty was moderated by Kathy Fisher, the Welfare and Public Benefits Coordinator for Public Citizens for Children and Youth and coordinator of the Coalition of Low Income Pennsylvanians. Joining her were Mark Price, Ph.D., Labor Economist for the Keystone Research Center; Lisa Donner, Executive Director of the Half in Ten Campaign; and Joe Ostrander, Communications Director for the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania. (Download "Impact of Recession on PA Poverty - Mark Price")

The session on tax loopholes was moderated by Sharon Ward, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, and featured Michael Mazerov, a Senior Fellow with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and C. Daniel Hassell, Deputy Secretary for Tax Policy at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

You can also download copies of the following policy papers released by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center at the Budget Summit:

- Modernizing an Antiquated Tax System: Understanding the Severance Tax (Download "Understanding the Severance Tax")

- Ensuring All Corporations Pay Their Fair Share: Closing Loopholes in Pennsylvania's Corporate Tax System (Download "Closing Corporate Tax Loopholes")

- A Tax Windfall Whose Time Has Passed: Understanding Pennsylvania's Sales Tax Vendor Discount Program (Download "Understanding Sales Tax Vendor Discount")

- Just the Facts: Pennsylvania Spending (Download "Just the Facts - PA Spending")

- Just the Facts: Pennsylvania Taxes (Download "Just the Facts - PA Taxes")

- Just the Facts: Pennsylvania Tax Fairness (Download "Just the Facts - Tax Fairness")

- Just the Facts: Pennsylvania Debt (Download "Just the Facts - PA Debt")