Lawmaker: Give small businesses a tax break | News, Sports, Jobs

“Small businesses need competitive tax rates” said U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, a ranking member of the House Financial Services and Small Business Committee.

Meuser addressed the issue of taxes and overregulation of businesses during a morning meeting of members of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce at the Williamsport Country Club.

He promised attendees that the Republican majority in the House of Representatives will always look for ways to reduce the tax burden on small businesses and limit overregulation by government agencies.

Meuser said he meant small-business owner because he helped grow the family business from small to large. He was an executive at Pride Mobility Products, a company he built with his brother, Scott, and father, Stan. His brother, Scott, is the company’s president and CEO. Meuser left the company in August 2008 to pursue a career in public service, where he had worked since 1988.

Meuser said today that the Luzerne County plant employs 1,200 people and that another 400 employees around the world sell the product line worldwide.

“When you are conditioned by time as a business person, it affects you, that is who you are” he said.

Meuser was appointed state secretary of revenue by Gov. Tom Corbett in 2011 after more than two decades of working in the private sector.

He added that he used common sense in business as a model for success and efficiency and created a place where people wanted to work.

When he took office in the House of Representatives in 2019, he said his goal was “bring business practices into government.”

As for inflation, Meuser said it has risen during the pandemic years and will continue to do so under Kamala Harris and a Democratic-controlled Senate, which he said has “philosophy of taxation and expenditure.”

Additionally, Meuser said he and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives have fought against excessive government regulation.

In the context of economic development, Meuser said he has applied for community projects funding for fiscal year 2025.

Of that amount, nearly $3 million ($2,964,500) was allocated to the Williamsport Municipal Authority and $1.1 million to the Pennsylvania College of Technology Forest Products Training Center.

The project will include building, grounds and equipment upgrades and the expansion of the Schneebeli Geoscience Center, which will house a new, state-of-the-art mill. These improvements will expand the curriculum for students seeking employment in the timber industry.

Later, Michel Miller, executive director of the Water and Sewerage Authority, confirmed that the requested funds would be used to replace a large transmission main at the water filtration plant.

“The project will benefit our entire water supply area” Miller said.

Meuser said he continues to work with state and local officials on projects such as last year’s receipt of $3.5 million for levee recertification, $2.6 million for the revitalization of Old Town Williamsport and funding for the Williamsport Regional Airport.

“As soon as I arrived here, I saw how strong and how much work had been done, and how ready the airport was to meet the expectations and fulfill the needs of so many companies that were developing here.” he said.

“I’m disappointed in myself for not doing more, so we’ll do more” Meuser said in a statement regarding funding for the Montoursville airport, which is the hub for Southern Express Airways flights that carry passengers to and from Dulles International Airport.

Meuser said he continues to work closely with Williamsport Airport Authority Chairman Frank Pellegrino and Airport Executive Director Richard Howell regarding the future development and needs of the airport.

“We push” he said. “We are not stopping. We are persistent. This is what the government demands. This is what business demands.”