Gov. Jack Markell’s (D) proposal to shift the state’s corporate income tax structure is sailing through the General Assembly, with the House signing off on the bill Thursday night.
The overwhelming 36 to 2 vote came after a stand by a vocal minority, calling it “corporate extortion” since the bill costs nearly $50 million over the next three years.
House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst (D-Delaware City) says that’s a smaller price tag than what might be billed to the state in the future through a loss in corporate presence.
“I think it would be a bigger devastation to us if we’re not finding ways to keep businesses here and then to attract new businesses, that could be a bigger shortfall than what we have currently before us.”
The bipartisan effort has received wide praise across party lines.
It would drop the current calculation that factors in an employer's workforce and the amount of property they own in Delaware and only tally up a company's annual sales.
The bill now heads to the state Senate for approval.
