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July 1, 2004
Council President Anne C. Verna
Members of City Council
Dear Council President Verna and Members of City Council,
Philadelphia is undergoing a remarkable renaissance. We are witnessing the production of market rate housing in this city unlike anything we have seen in decades. New housing is being built in Center City, along our waterfronts, and, yes, in our neighborhoods. There are major new retail developments under construction in South and Northeast Philadelphia that will add jobs and convenience for our residents. New and exciting restaurants open every week as we solidify our place as one of the leading culinary cities in the country. Our tourism and business marketing efforts and new state-of-the-art stadiums are generating favorable and well-deserved national exposure for our city. And we are on the threshold of our first new office tower construction in over a decade; construction that will result in new jobs in Philadelphia. These are not the signs of "a dying city", as some of the proponents of unaffordable tax reductions would call their own home. These are the signs of a great city that is changing and renewing itself.
Everyone recognizes the importance of a competitive tax structure. However, the Home Rule Charter assigns to the Mayor responsibility to protect the financial stability of the City and provide essential City services. The Tax Reform Commission urges that tax reductions be paid for through reduced expenditures and the increase of other taxes. Business and wage tax reductions of the magnitude proposed by Bill Nos. 040607 and 040608 approved by City Council would result inevitably in an unfair "shift" in tax burden to the property tax payers. For example, if half of the tax revenue lost could be made up with service cuts and half through increases in the property taxes, revenues from the property tax would have to increase by over 70% by FY 17. The City cannot afford the $3 billion tax reduc...
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