Today's Daily News provided a useful breakdown of the city's oft-maligned Business Privilege Tax (link added). Most city residents will never have to pay this tax and therefore feel that they have little stake in the debate over its existence.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The many sides of the Business Privilege Tax debate ultimately come down to how government can influence the economic situation of the city's residents, visitors, business owners and workers.
BPT cut proponents claim that the tax is a major reason that businesses are hesitant to come to Philadelphia and why entrepreneurs prefer to start businesses outside of the city limits. They claims that decreasing the tax and making changes in how it is assessed would cause more businesses to open up and create new jobs. New business means more property tax revenue; new jobs means more wage tax revenue.
Those who oppose BPT cuts say that the loss in the revenue from cutting the BPT would hamper the government's ability to make the city a more attractive place because of cuts to services, infrastructure upkeep and a continued inability to fund education and transit.
Even if you're not a business owner, you could be a potential employee for one of these new businesses or you could simply be a resident who is concerned with the city's ability to perform basic services.
We want to hear from everyone. If you are the owner of a small or large business in Philadelphia or outside of it, did the BPT affect your decision about where to locate or were there other stronger considerations? Tell us your story.
If you are thinking of starting your own small business, have you been thinking about the BPT yet?
We're less interested in your opinion about whether BPT reductions will/will not bring in more business, will/will not lead to an overall decrease in revenue, what you think business look for when making locational decisions (unless, as I said, you own or are starting a business). We'll leave those econometric studies and statistics to the experts... who can twist them to back any arguments anyway. We won't delete those opinions but we're really not looking for them here.
No, we want your story. How are personally affected by the BPT or by the services provided for (and therefore in some measure funded by) the BPT? Sound off in the comments.
Comments (3)
Allow me to get the ball rolling...
Not long after I published this blog post, Brett Mandel from Philadelphia Forward gave me a call to say that his group has long been collecting stories from people about how taxes have affected them.
Many of the stories are about Property Taxes (a topic for another show) but there are some about the Business Privilege Tax. Here's a sample:
As President of a small, but growing, (21 employees overall with 15 located in or around Philadelphia) company I can testify that modifying the existing tax structure on businesses will result in increased city revenues and a more attractive business climate.
...
I am a person who works from home typing. I am being put out of earning a living by having to pay the BPT and NPT.
Brett and Philadelphia Forward even made a movie about the BPT. It has the heavy tone of a suspense/horror movie. But what would you expect? Puppy dogs, rainbows and 80s pop music?
Please note, I post this just to give you a sense of what some folks have said about the BPT. Philadelphia Forward is an organization that has long been advocating for (among other things) the elimination of the BPT and reform of other taxes.
I'd also like to hear directly from business owners. Is the BPT a major factor in your decision making or is it pretty far down on the list? I don't expect any business owner to chime in and say, "yes, I LOVE paying the BPT," but I want to know if there are other things that the city could be doing that are higher on your list than eliminating the BPT.
Also, do you depend on some of the services that are funded (in part) by the BPT? I want to hear from you as well.
Please feel free to offer your own thoughts below.
Posted by Dan | March 5, 2008 1:40 PM
Why wasn't my posting last week published? it was reasonable, just skeptical?
Posted by Joshua Vincent | March 11, 2008 10:12 AM
Why wasn't my posting last week published? It was reasonable, just skeptical. This is not a mono-perspective site is it?
Posted by Joshua Vincent | March 11, 2008 10:13 AM