Help Available for New & 
Expanding Businesses
The Dauphin County Department of Community & Economic Development’s Board of Commissioners, John Payne, Lowman Henry & Anthony Petrucci, have reminded constituents that the DCDCED provides assistance to both new and expanding businesses as well as communities in Dauphin County.

They provide information about facilities, building sites, infrastructure, financing, tax incentives, demographics, tourism and other issues.

DCDCED offers low interest financial assistance to businesses and economic development projects through a variety of sources including the Dauphin County Industrial Development Authority (DCIDA), which is staffed by employees of the DCDCED. Projects may access the tax-exempt and taxable bonds market.

Another affiliated organization, the Dauphin County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC), administers the Team Pennsylvania Business Calling Program. The program involves meeting with and surveying business owners and executives to ascertain their needs and concerns then assist, where possible, through an established service provider network. Over the past two years over 200 companies have been interviewed.

Brochures and additional information may be obtained by calling 257-1550.

McNaughton Convinces House 
to Cut Capital Stock & Franchise Tax
Pennsylvania companies may soon have more money for job creation and expansion within the Commonwealth.

State Rep. Mark McNaughton (R- Dauphin), a member of the House Finance Committee, successfully lobbied the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to eliminate the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax (CSFT). He explained that the state’s minimum CSFT, currently $200, would be eliminated immediately. The remainder of the tax would be phased out over the next few years until it is completely eliminated in 2004.

"Under current law, businesses are required to pay at least $200 for the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax regardless of their profitability," said McNaughton, "For a start-up company that can be the final nail in the coffin. For larger companies, the CSFT can mean the difference between expanding in Pennsylvania or moving to a more business-friendly state."

"This legislation attempts to reduce the tax burden on newly formed companies, which sometimes takes several years to turn a profit, and level the playing field for manufacturers who are being solicited daily by other states," said McNaughton. "Instead of paying the government, these companies can use their revenue to create more jobs and find better ways to compete in a global market."

The CSFT legislation was amended into House Bill 2263, which was approved 199-0 on March 13. House Bill 2263 also includes a $100 property tax rebate for Pennsylvania’s 3.3 million homeowners and expands the state’s tax forgiveness program by $16 million, exempting 56,000 more low-income households from paying state income taxes. For example, a family of four could make up to $28,000 annually and pay no personal income tax, saving $627 annually. The income cut-off for that same family now is $26000.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where McNaughton said he expects quick action.

Harrisburg Branch AAUW Names Community Women of The Year
The American Association of University Women (AAUW), Harrisburg Branch, will confer its Community Woman of the Year award on three area women at an April 15, 2000 luncheon: Harrisburg Area Community College President Edna V. Baehre, Harrisburg City Council member Sandra Mosten, and Kay Pickering, Harrisburg businesswoman and volunteer.

The three women will be honored as outstanding women who embody AAUW’s ideal of service to the community’s needs in the areas of education, social justice, and civics. At the luncheon, they will present brief statements about their current activities and personal visions. They will then discuss the factors that helped them achieve their goals, and the obstacles they have overcome.

Members of the Harrisburg Branch AAUW honored at the event will include Outstanding Branch Member Carol Stark, and branch honorees Linda Marie Bardach, Paula Cooper, Leesa Crnogorac, and Shirley Miller.

The community is invited to attend the April 15th luncheon, at 12:00 noon at the Radisson Penn Harris. Reservations may be made by sending a check in the amount of $18 per person to: Harrisburg Branch AAUW, P.O. Box 1625, Harrisburg, PA 17105-1625.

AAUW promotes equity for women and girls, life-long education, and positive societal change. In keeping with this, the Harrisburg Branch annually contributes to AAUW’s Educational Foundation in the name of the Community Woman of the Year. The Educational Foundation is one of the nation’s largest sources of private funding for educational programs that directly benefit women and girls. For information on the Harrisburg Branch AAUW, call 233-8227, or visit the branch web site at libertynet.org/aauwhbg.

Citizens For The Arts 
In Pennsylvania Doing Their Part
On March 14, 2000, Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania (CFA/PA) co-sponsored the fifth annual Arts in Education Day. The event was also co-sponsored by 12 other cooperating organizations such as Binney & Smith, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Franklin Institute, the Carnegie Museum, and the Pennsylvania Alliance of Arts Education.

Several high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools presented theatrical, musical, and dance performances, as well as poetry readings, across the Commonwealth at various sites in and around the State Capitol. CFA/PA provided participants and visitors information on Arts in Education and "how-to" information for visiting or contacting legislators about the importance of arts education.

Also, at a considerably larger event, "Arts Advocacy Day 2000", CFA/PA was present to represent the commonwealth. At the event, arts, business, and educational leaders came together to meet with lawmakers to discuss the significance of public arts support and its role in helping communities across America realize their cultural aspirations.

Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania joined hundreds on Capitol Hill for two days of dialogue, advocacy and special events. At the same time, thousands of organizations and individuals nationwide mobilized a grassroots campaign that included calls, faxes and electronic mail to send a message to Congress that federal support for the arts is important to the economy, education, and the overall quality of life.

According to Francine Feinerman, CFA/PA president and CEO, "The arts are not a luxury reserved for the elite few; they are a powerful and vital investment in the economic, educational, and social future of our communities."

The timing of the event was critical, seeing as how President Clinton recently sent a budget request to Congress that increases the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) budget from $98 million to $150 million. The promise of these new monies is a significant step forward for the NEA. Arts endowment grants mean dances, plays and symphonies can continue to perform in concert halls and theaters. The grants also mean after-school programs, community development initiatives, alternatives for at-risk youth and programs for senior citizens.

To sustain cultural life in America and advance a new vision for the arts in the 21st century, arts advocates, including Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, are ready to make the case for arts support. The message to legislators is clear: Vote smart, Congress: support the arts.