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Monday, June 29, 2009

City Releases New Tax Deadbeat list

The city today released a new list of tax delinquents who owe the city back business taxes. This is the third such list put out by the city and it features 57 new businesses.

Check out this list here. The names highlighted in yellow are new to the list.

Since the city started publicizing tax deadbeats last November, they have collected $4 million in business tax revenue. Two well known names have remained on the list since last fall -- restaurantaur Neil Stein and Milton Street, brother of former Mayor Street.
Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 12:22 PM  Permalink | 10 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:19 PM, 06/29/2009
    When you going to investigate the much larger problem of overdue property taxes owed the city? There is half a billion in unpaid property taxes, a number that dwarfs the unpaid business taxes. There are 57 businesses on this new list; there are 130,000 property tax-delinquent properties in Philly in a city where renovators are eager to buy and rebuild.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:42 PM, 06/29/2009
    What a surprise - Milton Street owes $383,000. Probably taxes on City money paid to him in the first place. Isn't tax evasion an imprisonable offense???
    — citylumberjack
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:47 PM, 06/29/2009
    Hmm..rather than raising the city wage tax, how about we pursue the $74 million on this list?
    — tricch04
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:07 PM, 06/29/2009
    What the paper doesn't mention is that unlike property taxes, the way for a business to avoid the BPT is to move out of Philadelphia. We're making is so that businesses have to leave. The city taxes gross and net income, unlike any other county in PA, NJ, or DE. It's as simple as just having your office outside of Philly, and doing business in Philly as a foreign (outside) corporation. Compare this to property taxes, which tax an in-demand asset that is in Philly that can be foreclosed on and sold to eager buyers. Collecting overdue property taxes are the solution, whereas trying to beat a dead horse on business taxes just drives out the base. How does that make any sense to Nutter? He makes himself look like a dimwit.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:12 PM, 06/29/2009
    Nutter's own advisors, and certainly City Council's, don't think the budget crisis is severe enough to warrant going after the real money. Half a billion in overdue property taxes could be sold as easily as the auction of excess condos at the Murano. The painstaking legal and negotiated process of collecting overdue business taxes on $74 million won't result in enough money to cover much of the actual budget shortfall. When is Nutter and the press going to get serious? Do the math. There's a $614 million shortfall at least from the property tax hike not passing, and the sales tax hike not getting approved. There's $522 million owed the city in overdue property taxes. There's $74 million owed on this list. How much is overlooked or missing from your press coverage? About half a billion.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:19 PM, 06/29/2009
    It's a complete joke! How does the city allow someone or a corporation to get so far behind on their taxes? I mean people owing 400k + how come they weren’t 'shut off' before they became so delinquent. & I agree w/ CleanupPHILLY time to start knocking on row houses and getting their back taxes. Too many deadbeats in this city & little if any enforcement buy the city government.
    — Kennedy
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:08 PM, 06/29/2009
    I think Cleanup Philly might overstate two issues. First, for out-of-Philadelphia entities doing business in Phila., I believe BPT would still tax the gross revenues attributable to Phila. -- moving does not cure the unfairness people perceive in the BPT's use of gross revenue. Second, although I agree that the auction process should be used promptly and repeatedly to clear away old liens, I suspect that a huge portion of the notional value would turn out to be illusory once those properties were exposed to forced sales.
    — observer76
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:18 PM, 06/29/2009
    I see the names highlighted in yellow. I also see the many names repeated from the old lists. Is any effort being made to collect this money, other than embarrassing the debtors (deservedly so) with publicly published lists? I'm sure Milton Street laughed at this list. People with no sense of decency are hard to embarrass
    — DonQ
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:39 PM, 06/29/2009
    The Inq and DN only report what has been written for them by others. They do not do investigative reporting. Cleanup may overstate things but the principle is the same: Nutter and his cronies have NOT pursued the revenues owed the city not have they even hinted at a plan to do so. Some of these entities (owe $1million+ combined) are quasi faith based and present other political issues from Philly clergy. Nutter, in his ineptness, needs to be a one term mayor.
    — nebulus


10 comments
About The Philly Clout Team
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics ­– which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.
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Catherine Lucey
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