Council approves biz tax hike, delay to AVI
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Council approves biz tax hike, delay to AVI
Catherine Lucey
City Council stayed on course with their budget plan tonight – moving ahead with a deal that would delay Nutter’s property tax overhaul for a year and provide $40 million in funding to the school district.
Nutter had sought to immediately move to a property tax system based on market values, known as the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), and wanted to get $94 million in additional funding for schools through that move. But Council – which grew worried about implementing a new tax system without completed assessments – opted to delay AVI and raise $20 million through a property tax hike and $20 million in an increase to a business tax known as the use and occupancy tax.
“The administration and the mayor came forth with a proposal that at some point we need to do,” said Council President Darrell Clarke of AVI. “We need to stabilize values, we need to make sure it’s a fair and equitable process as it relates to real estate taxes. But at the end of the day, this particular proposal wasn’t ready. “
Council Thursday made some technical changes to property tax bill, which means final passage won’t come until next week. But by an 11-6 vote they gave final approval to the use and occupancy tax hike – a tax that the business community had lobbied hard to defeat.
After the votes, Clarke said this budget was a done deal, noting “whatever we did today, is it.”
6:26 pm - Council members are gathering after another long day of budget deliberations and we’re hearing they’re likely to stay on course with a deal that would delay Nutter’s property tax overhaul for a year and provide up to $40 million in funding to the school district.
Nutter had sought to immediately move to a property tax system based on market values, known as the Actual Value Initiative (AVI), and wanted to get $94 million in additional funding for schools through property taxes. But Council – which grew worried about implementing a new tax system without completed assessments – opted to delay AVI and raise $20 million through a property tax hike and $20 million in an increase to a business tax known as the use and occupancy tax.
We'll update when they get going.
There is no need to raise taxes. Demand that King Nutter start cutting the fat from his bloated administration. The time has come for the army of political appointees he has hired in each city department to be shown the door. Those people have jobs just because they know someone in power. They have no interaction with taxpayers and make $70,000+ per year and do nothing all day. Collect overdue property taxes and cut the bloated political patronage from city government. No more tax increases and no more middle class givebacks. Shared sacrifice. Nutter should resign. He is an embarrassment.— Michael T. Welsh- No reason at all. The climate to own property or run a business in this city is bad enough. Why is Council making it harder to live in Philadelphia, especially during a recession? That $40 million will have no impact on the schools whatsoever. Not when their budget is completely top heavy with unfunded liabilities owed to pensions and healthcare benefits for its employees. Less than half of that money ever ends up reaching the classroom. Most will go to pay down the District's unsustainable debts. So why do we keep shoveling money into this budgetary bonfire? The whole thing will need to be restructured at some point anyways.— Gilliam
Comment removed.- I suggest a general strike by ALL city employees -- police, fire, medical, the whole smash. Forget the rules. — jverlin
- Nutter has raised taxes for 4 straight years without making sensible cuts. He promised to lower the crime rate substantially and hasn't. He has no respect for the Philadelphia Fire Department by appealing a contract that was awarded to them through binding arbitration because it is illegal for them to strike. He has gambled with public safety by implementing brownouts at fire stations. He has failed to negotiate contracts with DC 33 and 47 and has balanced the budget on those employees backs by not giving them raises since 2007 and freezing their pay steps. He let that arrogant carpetbagger Camille Cates Barnett walk away with a $50,000 annual pension for "working" less than two years with the city while he demands pension givebacks from city workers. He hypocritically supported DROP Queen Marian Tasco for Council President while he called for the elimination of DROP city-wide. He has failed to aggressively collect overdue property taxes and tried to get AVI passed as a backdoor tax increase while providing no data to Council.
Michael A. Nutter will go down as the most disappointing, inept and arrogant Mayor in Philadelphia history. Shame on the media, the Unions, and the "Republican Party" in Philadelphia for not providing a counterweight and holding him accountable. Philadelphians deserve better.— Serpico - It seems that when people and policies fail, philosophy must serve and so it semms, must I. However great or small it may be, here is your counterweight:
Opinion: City has a spending problem (reprinted from the Philadelphia Inquirer, May 6):
Mayor Nutter’s latest revenue initiative to help the Philadelphia School District is as light on clear thinking and common sense as it is silent on the accountability of the people who caused it: former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and Michael Masch, the district’s former business officer (“More cash or no school, official says,” Wednesday).
My alternative solution is as simple as it is fair: Collect all outstanding receivables from tax-delinquent people and corporations, which should bring in more than $450 million.
But liberals don’t see it that way. They would rather resort to fear tactics, saying schools won’t open unless more than $90 million of additional revenue is realized. Philadelphia already has more revenue streams than most countries, including taxes on property, sales, wages, and real estate transfers. Enough!
For years, city government has had a spending problem. If left unchecked, the financial fabric of Philadelphia will become like much of Europe’s. If tax assessments are adjusted under the mayor’s proposal, many property owners will see their real estate taxes more than double. That’s not fair to honest, hardworking folks, especially during a recession.
I pay my taxes and I expect my neighbors to do the same. I also expect the city to live within its means. The people need to wise up and demand to be treated fairly. The financial imperative of our time demands nothing less.
Jonathan R. Verlin, teacher, South Philadelphia High School, Philadelphia, teacherjrv@msn.com
— jverlin - Michael Nutter is a coward and a liar. — jverlin
- Mayor Nutty
"I'm sorry ro announce today that there are no more business'
left in our overtaxed city except those city council has exempted"
circa.2014— goodsax - Mayor Nutty "I'm sorry ro announce today that there are no more business'left in our overtaxed city except those city council has exempted" circa.2014 (HTML deleted)— goodsax
- This despicable aloof mayor would rather tax the heart of the city than collect 515 million owed us or cur rhe hundreds of ypuseless high priced employees and contract employees both in the city and schools tell me mayor nutter how do u look in the mirror at least city council which is no great shakes didnt go along with this urkel like fraud who is now strutting since he was elected president of rhe mayors what a phoney mayor please just bowl— the commodore
- This is the best Council can do??? A temporary tax, that has become permanent after 3 years, and raise the use and occupancy tax to business, so they can get out of town to begin their summer recess, till the fall!!!! Time to recall them, and cancel recess until further notice, or have they forgot who they work for!!!— Dadair1
- The joke of it all the city is not broke this elitist phiney bowler who we call michael nutter has hired all the council people not retained by the alleged serious six council people also at the school district pedro ramos has every intention of appointing loree jones to a 200k position when the budget is placed. She will be his chief of staff and by the way has anyone noticed how many people police are assigned to vinny chase nutter even when he goes bowling with blondes— the commodore
- I'm glad the city has all the business tax revenue it needs so it can afford to have businesses leave the city. Nutter seems to be going down the same far left road as Obama.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- Those who don't pay, go ahead and continue. Those who do pay and employ? Pay more. What an absolutely ridiculous solution by small minded bureaucrats. And, of course, subtract that tax from your taxpayer's pay, because that's where it will come from. But by all means, continue to elect these people into office if you are a taker.— commentary
- I wish Obama WOULD go to the left!— PhillySteel36
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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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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. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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