Philly councilman wants more taxes collected from out-of-town property owners

A Philadelphia councilman wants the city to crack down on delinquent property owners who live beyond the city.

Too many property owners are not paying their fair share of taxes, and many of them live outside Philadelphia, said Councilman Allan Domb.

“There’s still about $215 million of nonowner-occupied delinquency,” he said. “These are people that are not using it as their home. Their real estate is worth $5.7 billion, and they owe us $215 million. Their loan to value is about 4 percent. We will get paid on a lot of that.”

Domb wants to put liens on the properties of delinquent taxpayers.

“Taxes are a first lien on real estate, they come before any other debt,” he said Tuesday. “Whether it’s mortgages or lenders, etc. So no matter if it’s 10 or 20 years, we will be paid.”

It’s another way Philadelphia can generate more revenue and minimize the need to raise taxes, he said.