One of the many differences between Philadelphia
Controller Jonathan Saidel's tax package proposal and that
of Mayor Street was wage tax cuts. Currently,
Philadelphia's wage-tax levy is 4.54 percent for residents
and 3.96 percent for nonresidents. On April 10, the
Philadelphia Council nearly unanimously endorsed a measure
that would cut the wage-tax in small amounts each year for
the next five years. Mayor Street had argued that the city
should halt its policy since 1995 of implementing gradual
and small reductions in the tax. Under the bill approved
by the Council, the despised levy would be cut by at least
4 percent by 2007. Councilmen Michael Nutter and Frank
DiCicco led the rebellion against the mayor's position,
arguing that tax cuts would spur economic development.
Under the just approved Council action, the wage tax would
drop at a minimum to 4.35 percent for residents and 3.78
percent for non-residents by 2007
The week prior to the Council's vote on the wage-tax
cut, a march on City Hall was organized by Charles Pizzi,
head of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
Business leaders came out in force to demand tax cuts.
Joshua Vincent, President of the Center for the
Study of Economics (CSE), Philadelphia, said that
reinstatement of wage tax cuts was accomplished by direct
action. The march on City Hall was supported by the
Chamber of Commerce, the NAACP, the Teamsters, and included
many Georgists -- Joan Sage, Josh Vincent, Jacob
Himmelstein, Al Hartheimer, Richard Biddle, Brian Cole, Ken
Ford and many others.
The next step, says Josh Vincent, is the current
process of educating local neighborhoods groups and special
interest groups. A two-day conference on land value
taxation and assessment practices, moderated by Ed Dodson,
was held on January 30. (see Jan.-Feb. 2002 GroundSwell,
"Philadelphia Forum Held.")
A special research project, co-funded by CSE, the
Realtors, Drexel, and the Controller's office will see how
accurate current assessments are.