After talking about the uniformity clause and the wage tax, our discussion turned to real estate taxes and the possibility, now denied by the uniformity clause, of taxing commerical property at higher rathes than residential property. Continue reading
I was at the rally against Casino’s today and have to say I was impressed by how well it was organized and conducted. It was at the same spot where the first transit rally was held a few years ago. Not that long after the first transit rally we brought 4000 people from across the state. Given what I saw today, the anti-casino rally in Harrisburg will easily exceed 4000. This movement has been a long time coming. But as I will explain in this and some future posts, I am glad it is here. Continue reading
Because of his effective proselytization on behalf of the job-killing business privilege tax—a name he invented—Brett Mandel of Philadelphia Forward is not the most well liked person in progressive circles. I myself have disagreed with him about the BPT, at least in part. (This is a subject for another time but, in brief, my view is that the BPT is an awful tax from a progressive point of view and should be eliminated. But we have to replace the revenues we get from the BPT with an alternative unless and until eliminating it–and taking other steps to revive the Philadelphia economy–brings in the revenues we need to provide essential city services.) But Brett is both a friend of mine and a progressive on practically all issues as well as being a impressive thinker and activist. He is also a Neighborhood Networks member and co-leader in our Center City group. Recently… Continue reading