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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Since when did Philly go "tax-free"?

So I’m walking along the Boardwalk in Wildwood when I see this billboard, hanging above Lime Ricky, at Oak Ave.

It’s sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, which recently launched its fun “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO” marketing campaign to pull tourists into the city.
 
Cute ad, right? Except it had me wondering:

Since when does Philly have tax-free shopping?

I just paid a bunch of tax on the stove we bought to replace the busted, 30-year-old Hotpoint. Ditto on the supplies I purchased for my kid’s sleepaway camp. I forked over 7% tax on the Father’s Day cards I gave my dad and my husband. And – whoa – did we ever get tax-socked on our new car.

So I called GPTMC to ask: Am I missing something?

“Clothes and shoes aren’t taxed,” said spokesman Eric Cortes.

But clothes and shoes aren’t the only things that people, let alone tourists, “shop” for. They also shop for household goods, furniture, toiletries, prepared foods, souvenirs, tickets to sporting and cultural events, restaurant meals and on and on and on.

The place for real tax-free shopping, of course, is Delaware, which heavily promotes its tax-free status (even cars and cab rides are tariff-free).

So I contacted the state’s office of economic development to gauge reaction to the GPTMC’s “tax free” claim.

“I can understand where they’re coming from,” said Dina Reider-Hicks, the department’s director of marketing and development. “Most people think of clothes and shoes when they think of shopping. But it might be seen as a little misleading.”

Me, I think it’s disingenuous, at best, to imply that shoppers won’t be hit with Philly’s hefty 7% tax sales tax (plus, possibly, a temporary, extra penny-per-sales-transaction, if our mayor has his way)  when they open their wallets here.
 
Posted by Ronnie Polaneczky @ 8:10 AM  Permalink | 15 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:43 PM, 07/08/2009
    THANK YOU! It's misleading 100%. And, as far as I'm concerned, GPTMC should know better than to pull a stunt like that.
    — doingtherightthing
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:30 AM, 07/09/2009
    yeah - parking authority comes to mind.
    — Natural_lady
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:24 PM, 07/09/2009
    Philly needs to remove the sales tax, and run the ad again. But a city desperately trying to raise the sales tax is not the place for "tax free" shopping.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:01 AM, 07/10/2009
    Thanks for the discussion. The wording is based on the premise that "shopping" calls to mind clothes and shoes rather than services. And while a billboard offers limited space for copy, our press materials and web site (www.gophila.com) are more explicit. (And gophila.com is the call-to-action of the billboard.) We appreciate your attention to our With Love, Philadelphia XOXO campaign. And with 53 other iterations (!) hopefully you'll find more to love.
    — Caroline - Philadelphia Tourism
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:34 PM, 07/11/2009
    It's very misleading. And buying a vehicle in Delaware is tax free until you register it here in Pa., then you'll get hit with the tax. That Sucks. I try to do my big ticket item shopping in Delaware and of course my Christmas shopping. Used to buy cigarettes there too before I quit smoking. A half hour ride up the 95 is worth the trip sometimes.
    — Hop
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:51 PM, 07/12/2009
    misleading?! u betcha! that xtra 1¢ IS coming. just what the City needs – ANOTHER tax. i moved outta Philly 3 yrs. ago... i pay NO wage tax, no earned income tax, no net profit tax (one of the the most illegal taxes in the nation) & just 6% sales tx... AND no parking tickets, etc. (only when i visit!)... 1/2 price insurances, discounted property tax, 55% less transfer tax on property, ETC. and i STILL live in PA! u can only hit me on the head for so long... ah, 30 years! i didn't say i was THAT smart.
    — tfcino1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:35 PM, 07/12/2009
    It's not misleading. It's false advertising!
    — NickEeee
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:48 PM, 07/12/2009
    Just say NO to the PA state personal income tax hike: http://www.stoppataxhike.com/
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:23 PM, 07/14/2009
    You guy's should be happy, here in VA everything is taxed and you will never own anything not a car, house or boat. Be happy because the tax man lives in the state of VA
    — army74
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:25 AM, 07/15/2009
    i think its racist!! lets picket the GPTMC!
    — figureitout
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:46 PM, 07/15/2009
    Three things: 1) Its false advertising, 2) There's no disclaimer to go to the web site to get the "right" info 3) Why do I see these advertisements in Philly? @army74 - I used to live in Va. Personal property tax on your car $500+ a year. But your registration/inspections are much, much cheaper than up here, where the politicians get paid by us (interpret that however you want).
    — Phils_World_Champs
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:14 AM, 07/16/2009
    No, it means even Philadelphia wants to go somewhere else (I'm guessing Delaware). XD
    — Ilmare
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:52 AM, 07/18/2009
    Stay in a hotel or rent a car in Philadelphia if you want to see taxes - its immoral.
    — JWS54


15 comments
About Ronnie Polaneczky

When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.

Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.

That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.

Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green

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