Nutter creates tax task force

MAYOR NUTTER yesterday announced a new task force to look at the city's tax policies.

"Overhauling Philadelphia's tax structure is vital to our competitiveness and economic prosperity," Nutter said during a speech to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce at the Marriott Downtown.

Nutter called the city's taxes "onerous, cumbersome and burdensome." He said the 15-person group will be charged with reviewing city taxes and issues such as development and regulation, and with providing a report by Sept. 14. Nutter said no members have been selected.

In 2002, Nutter created the Tax Reform Commission, approved by voter referendum, which was given a year and $500,000 to review the city's tax structure and recommend reforms. Some of the group's recommendations were adopted, but not its entire package of reforms.

Nutter said there was a need for a new group.

"The jurisdiction and responsibility is much broader," he said.

Brett Mandel, a member of the Tax Reform Commission, questioned the new tax group.

"We keep having commissions and commissions and spending public money and time on this," said Mandel, who had been executive director of the nonprofit tax-policy organization Philadelphia Forward until announcing a run for city controller this week.

"Folks keep coming up with variations on a theme," Mandel said. "There's lots of little tiny tweaks that one could make on taxes, but the basic refrain that we have to reduce the wage tax, hack down business taxes and make real-estate taxes fair has been pretty consistent." *