Harrisburg, PA − July 10, 2024 − Today, Senator Christine Tartaglione and Senate Democrats voted along party lines in the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee to oppose a motion to have the Senate’s Secretary issue a subpoena to the Secretary of Revenue, Pat Browne, for various aggregated Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) attributable taxes reported to the Department of Revenue.
The party-line 7-4 vote now empowers the Senate Secretary to issue a subpoena to the Department of Revenue for tax documents that Democrats argued would force the Department of Revenue to either violate Section 731 of the Pennsylvania Fiscal Code, a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison or defy the Senate’s Subpoena.
“The motion we were forced to vote on today is a targeted action that will facilitate the disclosure of information from just a few individuals in one specific and small geographic zone of the state,” said Senator Tartaglione. “What we voted on today has a questionable procedural basis and flies in the face of good governance. It demands the disclosure of sensitive private information and forces a Commonwealth agency to knowingly violate the law in order to comply. The subpoena motion passed today is not an oversight; it is overreach.”
This was the second attempt to subpoena the NIZ records after the first attempt in the bicameral Legislative budget and finance committee failed in a 6-6 vote over the same privacy and confidentiality concerns.
Tax documents being requested include all attributable tax documents reported between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2023, broken down on an annual basis and by type. Tax documents being requested include:
- Corporate Net Income Tax
- Capital Stock/Foreign Franchise Tax
- Bank Shares Tax
- Gross Premiums Tax
- Sales, Use, and Hotel Occupancy Tax
- Employer Withholding Tax
- Gross Receipts Tax
- Unemployment Compensation
- Realty Transfer Tax
- Cigarette Tax
- Tobacco Products Tax
- Vehicle Rental Tax/Public Transportation Assistance
- Vehicle Lease Tax/Public Transportation Assistance
- Personal Income Tax
- Malt Beverage Tax
- Contractor Sales and Use Tax
- PA Sales and Use Tax Paid on the Purchase of Tangible Personal Property or Services
- Title Insurance Company Shares Tax
- Net Income Tax
- Malt or Brewed Beverage Tax – Excise and Sales Tax
- Liquor/Wine Excise and Sales Tax
- Any additional applicable state taxes not included above
The Senate Secretary will now send the subpoena to the Department of Revenue.
More information on the Commonwealth’s tax incentives, credits and programs can be found on the Department of Revenue’s website.
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