Mixed reaction in Harrisburg to Philadelphia's sales tax hike request

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is a frequent visitor to Harrisburg these days, lobbying lawmakers to allow the city to raise the sales tax by 1 % and make changes to pension financing. But it’s still unclear how the sales tax hike will sit with lawmakers, who are struggling to close a more than $3 billion budget gap of their own.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is a frequent visitor to Harrisburg these days, lobbying lawmakers to allow the city to raise the sales tax by 1 % and make changes to pension financing. But it’s still unclear how the sales tax hike will sit with lawmakers, who are struggling to close a more than $3 billion budget gap of their own.

State Representative Dwight Evans remains optimistic about Nutter’s bid for a sales tax hike. But Nutter may have a tougher sell in the Republican dominated Senate.

Senator Dominic Pillegi, who represents Chester and Delaware Counties, says the good news is they’re still talking. But Pileggi says he has concerns about how the tax hike would affect the region’s economy, and whether the budget includes enough spending cuts.

Nutter says lawmakers like Pileggi are listening.

Nutter: He is tremendously thoughtful, he’s paid attention to the request that we’ve made but we’re not the only show in town, they have their own budgetary problems so we’re just gonna continue to do our job.

Nutter is under a lot of pressure to get state approval of the tax hike before the end of this month, when the city is required to submit its budget to a state oversight agency.