The Phillies and the City Budget: Win Some, Lose Some

The Mayor's office is circulating a press release today touting the economic benefits of the Phillies post-season run, which could include up to $3 million for the city budget. The Inquirer reported the story

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.

And that's great.

But what most folks might not realize is that the Phillies, like all professional athletes in town, do not pay a wage tax on big chunks of their multi-million dollar salaries, with the exception of players like Chase Utley and Pat Burrell who live in the city instead of the suburbs.

Whenever the Phils are out of town, be it for spring training or when they're putting a hurt on

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, non-resident Phillies don't have to pay the wage tax. It's not a special giveaway for athletes. Any non-resident Philadelphian who sometimes works in the city and sometimes works away from it gets the same deal. A traveling salesman, for instance, or a businesswoman who commutes to New York twice a week.

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