Philadelphia Forward Plans Tax Day Events

Philadelphia Forward announced its plans to celebrate Tax Day by pushing for tax reform in Philadelphia.  Tax reformers will gather on Thursday, April 15th at 8:00 am on Dilworth Plaza (NW corner of City Hall) to call on elected officials to deliver true tax reform for Philadelphia and spread a little tax reform cheer to the city's overburdened taxpayers.

Push For Tax Reform On Tax Day!

How best to celebrate Tax Day?  By pushing for tax reform in Philadelphia.

Join other tax reformers on April 15th at 8:00 am on Dilworth Plaza (NW corner of City Hall at 15th Street and JFK Boulevard) as we rally to push for tax reform.

City Controller Jonathan A. Saidel and other local notables are scheduled to address the crowd as we hand out "checks" to taxpayers detailing how much they would save if we enact the tax reform plan drafted by the city's Tax Reform Commission.

We will then proceed upstairs to address the City Council caucus in room 401 City Hall to tell our elected officials that it is time for real tax reform — right now!  Tax reform will not happen unless our elected officials believe that we think it is a priority — so join us as we make that statement loud and clear.

All day, taxpayers will be sending elected officials “Unhappy Tax Day” notes underlining the need for reform.  Click here to send your own message.

After work, look for volunteers handing out informational literature to give some hope to taxpayers dropping off their returns at the Post Office — help us let them know that we will get tax reform in Philadelphia this year. 

Why Is April 15th Unhappy Tax Day? 

Because not many of us like to celebrate how much money we must turn over to the government each April 15th — but in Philadelphia, we have a bigger reason to be unhappy because Philadelphia taxes even more than most other places.

What’s wrong with Philadelphia’s taxes?

• We tax more than other cities
• We tax what other cities do not
• We tax unfairly

How Does Philadelphia Compare?

• Other cities are growing, but Philadelphia is still in decline.
• The Greater Philadelphia Region is growing, but the City of Philadelphia continues to lose jobs and neighbors.
• The typical city resident’s tax burden is more than 50% higher than the tax burden for a suburban resident at a similar income level.

Why?

• Most cities don’t tax wages, but we do.  In fact, Philadelphia’s Wage Tax, at nearly 4.5%, is the highest in the nation. More of your paycheck goes to the city, not your family.
  Philadelphia’s business taxes are the highest among major American cities. 
• Philadelphia is the only big city that taxes business gross receipts and net income — 16 of 20 big cities don’t tax business gross receipts or net income, but we do — and we do it twice.
• Most cities tax real property equitably, with all taxpayers paying their fair share.  Philadelphia’s antiquated and inadequate assessment methods cause the poorest among us to pay too much, while the wealthiest among us get a break.

But Philadelphia now has a blueprint for tax reform authored by the city’s Tax Reform Commission that is credentialed, popular, and ready to be enacted.  The Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission – created by a vote of nearly 180,000 city residents – spent 10 months and $.5 million taxpayer dollars to draft a comprehensive overhaul of the city’s tax structure that would:

• Dramatically reduce the city Wage Tax
• Reform, reduce, and eventually eliminate the Business Privilege Tax
• Make Real Estate Taxes fair and understandable