Make Tax Competitiveness a Priority

The Philadelphia Inquirer today had an editorial encouraging continued efforts to enhance tax competitiveness. The City’s projected budget surplus is $168 million. The state fiscal oversight agency PICA doesn’t think that the City’s budget plan "meaningfully" addresses its "uncompetitive tax structure." Mayor Street's thinks an additional one-year reduction of the City's gross-receipts tax on business is fine, while Councilman Michael A. Nutter offers a more effective plan, with five years of programmed cuts in the gross-receipts tax. Guaranteed tax-cuts give businesses a level of comfort that this City is headed in the right direction and encourages them to make commitments to growing. An even better advancement would be Nutter's proposed net-profits business tax cuts. Unfortunately, even after 11 years of progress, Philadelphia ranks highly among American cities with the highest taxes. Nothing generates tax revenue like adding jobs, particularly Center City office jobs. Let’s keep moving forward towards tax competitiveness.