More Bad Budget News For Philadelphia

As reported in the Inquirer, the revenues from this tax are disappearing rapidly.  Readers of our newsletter Incentive Taxation, published by our sister outfit, the  Center for the Study of Economics, will remember that in our January 2008 issue we predicted this would happen. 

Are we geniuses with some of that there ESP? No, but we knew the real estate market was tanking, so we knew that the economy would deflate, so we knew that credit would tighten, so we knew that sales would drop, so we knew that THAT tax was doomed.

Mayor Nutter reported this news last night at a contentious community meeting meeting in Mayfair and Tacony, Council District Six ground zero for land value tax success for homeowners and citizens, where 95% of homeowners would see a break under our plan, and would not feel tax increases when the inevitable happens: more reliance on real estate tax for Philadelphia.

Why do we say that? Because we as a city cannot continue chasing mobile jobs and commerce for tax revenues.  We need a real estate tax based on land value, with provision for these few private citizens that might beat a greater-than-fair burden.

Meanwhile, USA today reports that real estate taxes are still stable, in the midst of disaster. Lessons for us all:

“Home values dropped 17% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2007, reports the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. At the same time, property tax collections across the USA rose 3.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.” 12/4/08