State Sen. Lloyd Smucker on Friday called again for a state historic tax credit to spark urban revitalization and improve the tax bases of ailing cities. Smucker made his remarks at the Economic Development Co. of Lancaster County and the EDC Finance Corp. annual meeting. "Until t......

Ringing phones and clacking keyboards provided background music for the activity in Sen. Mike Brubaker's Lititz office Tuesday. Staffers Jen Frees, Christine Stoltzfus and Karen Scheffey worked as a team to answer phones, respond to emails, process constituent requests and attend to visitors......

Two state senators from Lancaster County have won prized committee chairmanships for the new two-year legislative session. Sen. Mike Brubaker of Warwick Township, a former chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, has been chosen to lead the influential Senate Financ......

Local school officials are taking a dim view of legislation recently approved by the state House to address the looming school pension funding crisis.House Bill 2497 would give districts some breathing room on pending huge increases in payments into the Public School Employees' Retirem......

President Barack Obama perhaps laid a smoke screen last Monday when he announced a plan to close tax loopholes for U.S. companies with overseas components in "tax havens."Though the nefarious offshore tax havens loomed large in the president's message, the proposal he laid ou......

"The new Treasury secretary nominee, Timothy Geithner, has come up with a plan to lower taxes. Don't pay them!"
— Jay LenoTimothy Geithner, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, did not pay Social Securi......

Taxing authorities are increasingly challenging the tax-exempt status of nonprofits.More and more nonprofits look like businesses. They charge fees and sell products and services to raise money.As state and local governments face declining tax revenues, exempting these institutions ......

Leaders of an association of charities are wondering if state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong is deliberately holding up a bill they believe would help nonprofits raise money, but the senator says that's not the case.The bill, House Bill 169, would boost by thousands of dollars the maximum pa......

Local fraternal groups and charities are rallying for legislation that could help them raise more funds through small games of chance.At a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, representatives of such organizations will ask the public and state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong to support legisla......