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Friday, March 13, 2009

Updated Tax Delinquent List Released

Following Mayor Nutter's street confrontation with a business tax delinquent, the city today released their updated list of the city's top 50 tax deadbeats.

The bold-faced name that jumped out at us was former Mayor Street's brother Milton Street, who owes the city $383,037, according to the list. But since Street last September was locked up for failing to pay federal taxes, we doubt the city will see that money any time soon.

Review the list for yourself.
Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 11:30 AM  Permalink | 17 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:43 PM, 03/13/2009
    It's not true that just because someone's locked up that you can't get the money. The lien is posted against property, and the property is put up for sheriff sale. A good lawyer on top of things can get that done in one year.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:45 PM, 03/13/2009
    Of course a lawyer for the delinquent will state it's impossible, it can't be done, the property is not as valuable as the lien against it, yadda yadda, then will arrange to try to stymie collection. The city doesn't act expediently enough to protect its own interests, but with good press coverage that can change.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:53 PM, 03/13/2009
    Some of these defunct businesses still have large warehouses and loft style buildings in Philly that any number of builders would love to buy at the right price. If the city just sheriff saled the assets and quit messing around with "arrangements to pay" they could get most of their money now and make those "arrangements to pay" on the rest.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:59 PM, 03/13/2009
    The city is still not talking about fixing overdue property tax collection. There are no tax lien sales in March and April of 2009. The Tax Delinquency sale is still not online, and not advertised each time in the two or three largest papers. The tax collection sale is still only 100 properties a month, like there was an arbitrary fixed limit, and those properties are only in the worst areas to buy. What about all the tax delinquent properties in the best neighborhoods, the up and coming areas? Those zip codes have one in three owners not paying property taxes, and builders want to buy those lots and empty houses. This is how the city ensures that it has to keep taxes high, and raise property taxes on those who do pay. See for yourself: http://www.phillysheriff.com/
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:01 PM, 03/13/2009
    If the tax collection sale is only every going to have 100 properties offered for sale every month, and there are always going to be 130,000 properties in the city that owe money (the current number of delinquent property tax properties), it will take 100 years to catch up on the backlog if all three sheriff sales don't improve their revenue performance.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:06 PM, 03/13/2009
    It's great that Nutter finally shows some comprehension of the sheriff sale process and the city's obligation to go after what is owed at auction, but the city also can't rely on the BPT in good times or bad to get the budget covered. It's going to take 1. fixing overdue property tax collection 2. putting properties back into the up to date, properly assessed, real time property tax paying base 3. selling the thousands of properties held by the city and RDA, and other government landbank agencies that are low performing 4. having an objective, real market value property tax assessment and millage using AVI. That was, is, and forever more shall be the base of Philly's revenue -- property taxes. Wage taxes don't work, and the BPT is not easy to get at when people don't pay it, or not as easy as getting overdue property taxes paid. The business community knows that there is $522 million in overdue property taxes owed the city, and they're going to feel unjustly singled out.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:34 PM, 03/13/2009
    sounds like a lot of building fires will hit the phila. area.
    — kowboy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:49 PM, 03/13/2009
    CleanupPhilly, I'd like to meet you and give you a hi-five; you're my hero.
    — Jason259
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:08 PM, 03/13/2009
    Since it is a business judgement against Milton Street he is pretty much free and clear after the assets of his enterprise is disposed of. Looks like most of these people did not establish LLC's but instead used sole prop or partnerships as their business entity.
    — miles.teg
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:13 PM, 03/13/2009
    Alan Sagot $140,xxx Santaguida $130,xxx why would the City publish the tax debts of these lawyers?
    — zen
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:17 PM, 03/13/2009
    MILTON STREET OWES APPROX $11,000 in PARKING TICKETS
    — zen
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:24 PM, 03/13/2009
    When do we bolt Novacare?
    — Earl J
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:25 PM, 03/13/2009
    I want to know why the city waited SO long to collect on these Tax Deadbeats? Don't we have someone watching who is not paying their taxes? What does that say for us as a city? No one should feel sorry for us, we did it to ourselves, if someone kept on top of "The "Deadbeats we would not be in this mess. I hope we have learned from this and from now on make sure no one gets away from paying their taxes!
    — joybill
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:38 PM, 03/13/2009
    Tax deadbeats only exist because they were allowed to amass those debts. I would look into their political connections, if I were the DA. Of course, I'm not the DA, and I don't owe political favors.
    — DonQ
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:50 PM, 03/13/2009
    Thanks Jason259. I think people like you are making a dent. That explains Nutter's Gramburg (the S. Broad St. lawyer that owes BP taxes) confrontation. But it really is just PR until Nutter explains how he's legally and procedurally fixed the thing, and is ensuring that the city has the capacity or hires the capacity to go after property tax deadbeats since they are the largest dollar amount but also the gamut. There are vacant properties that the owners can't sell because the deeds are fraudulent, but the city won't sheriff sale the properties and give the owner extension, after extension, after extension. There can't be this arbitrary policy anymore. The judicial order that allows empty houses in probate to be treated the same as residential properties and stop a sheriff sale has to be overturned yesterday. There are a thousand ways the city has gummed up itself, screwed itself in getting this money, for old-school cheap votes, most likely. Nutter promised to fix it. Where's the beef?
    — CleanupPhilly


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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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