Some of the best minds on local tax policy will gather next week to ponder whether Philadelphia can raise its sales tax rate without also triggering a steep decline in business activity. The timing of this discussion is - right on - because even though the Mayor and City Council have agreed on a budget [...]

The Mayor and City Council in Philadelphia hope that yesterday’s budget compromise will give them a “unified voice” as they seek state legislative approval for key components of the city spending plan.
State Approval Needed to:
Allow the City of Philadelphia raise its sales tax one penny for five years.
Allow the City to delay contributions into its [...]

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter dropped his demand for a two-year property tax hike over the weekend, that paved the way for him and City Council to reach an agreement this afternoon on next year’s buddget. The compromise plan incorporates Council’s idea for a temporary five-year sales tax hike,  but drops a plan to borrow money [...]

Heard in the Hall reports today that members of City Council and the Mayor are working on a budget compromise that does not include raising property taxes.  The plan under consideration appears to be based on Council’s alternative budget which calls for a five-year sales tax hike. Councilman Jim Kenney is quoted as saying that [...]

In the race to be the Philadelphia’s Fiscal Watchdog, the three Democratic candidates weighed in on whether it was sound fiscal policy for the City to borrow against future tax revenues.
In the video, you’ll see a great exchange from last night’s City Controller’s debate held in Northeast Philadelphia.  The three candidates you’ll see include the [...]

The program Tight Times, Tough Choices: The Pennsylvania State Budget airs Thursday, May 7 at 9 p.m. on our digital TV channel Y-Info. (Comcast 258, FiOS 473)
The program is designed to give citizens a stronger understanding of the current budget crisis and encourage more citizen involvement in the decisions that are about to be made [...]

On March 24, 2009, It’s Our City began an outreach campaign to every member of the Philadelphia City Council asking for them to share with us their thoughts about the budget. The questions are pretty straight-forward.
Do you largely support the mayor’s budget?
If you do not, what areas do you see as problematic?
What alternatives do you [...]

So if reading my live blog from earlier this evening just wasn’t enough and you want to see how some of the most powerful officials in state government are tackling the issues outlined in the Economy League’s budget primer, tune to WHYY-TV on Sunday, May 3 at 6 p.m.  That’s when we’re airing the program [...]

By Dan Pohlig
(Live blog) Is there a governmental body that isn’t experiencing “tight times” these days?  Heck, is there a household or corporation that hasn’t had to cut back?
Everywhere you turn, there’s more news about layoffs, program cuts, loss of funding, unemployment, bankruptcy and just pure budgetary chaos.  The government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania [...]

The Philadelphia Wage Tax cannot be raised to help solve next year’s huge budget gap. The City Council was hinting that it might raise the tax as a way to generate extra money. But the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Heard in the Hall blog reports that the City’s Finance Director Rob Dubow informed Council that the city [...]