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Delaware Corporate Income Tax Reform Approved by House

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DOVER, Del. (AP) - House lawmakers have approved proposed changes to Delaware's corporate income tax system to eliminate disincentives for multistate firms to hire workers and invest in property in the state.

The legislation, supported by Gov. Jack Markell, was approved Thursday on a 36-to-2 vote and sent to the Senate.

The bill revises a formula that equally factors the Delaware-based percentages of a company's total payroll, property and sales in calculating the state income tax due.

It gradually reduces the weight given the property and payroll factors until, by 2020, a company's Delaware corporate income tax would be based solely on Delaware's proportion of total sales.

If the bill becomes law, the state would lose an estimated $8.2 million in fiscal 2017, $17.6 million the following year, and $22.9 million in fiscal 2019.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.