Press Releases

Pa. Local Tax Collection: Worst in U.S.

PITTSBURGH - Pennsylvania holds the dubious honor of having more taxing jurisdictions (560) than all other states combined.

The Pennsylvania House Finance Committee conducted a hearing this week at the Pittsburgh Convention Center to discuss converting the local tax collection system into a more streamlined countywide collection process. Cheri Freeh, a representative from Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (PICPA) State Taxation Committee, was among those who testified in support of a more efficient process.

PICPA supports measures that would help eliminate the burden the local tax system places on Pennsylvania taxpayers and their employers. The system now requires companies to collect taxes from their employees and remit them to local tax collectors, but many, if not most, employers have to juggle multiple taxing jurisdictions with different tax rates, forms, and procedures. The complex and fragmented system prevents business growth by making it more difficult and expensive for companies to do business in the Commonwealth. In addition, millions of dollars are also lost in the current system, which has no standardization of forms and procedures.

Freeh, a partner with CPA firm Hutchinson, Gillahan & Freeh PC in Quakertown, insists a "countywide collection should help eliminate duplication, reduce administrative costs, and achieve economies of scale that could help benefit Pennsylvania taxpayers."

PICPA's State Taxation Committee is composed of CPAs from across Pennsylvania who examine state and local tax filing issues. Members of the committee have previously testified before the state legislature on the proposed state sales tax expansion and the tax appeals process.

Founded in 1897, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants is a professional association of more than 19,000 CPAs who work in public accounting, industry, government, and education. PICPA is the second-oldest and fifth-largest state CPA organization in the United States. To find a member CPA in your area, visit our Web site at www.picpa.org and click on CPA Locator. Students and educators can visit PICPA's specially designed site www.CPAzone.org to get the latest information about careers in accounting and the CPA profession.