Since we've been talking about the Business Privilege Tax for a couple weeks now and there seems to be some controversy about the tax in the local blogosphere, I offer you a piece from Governing.com's series America's Innovative Mayors.
Titled "How to be the next Silicon Valley? What every mayor should know," it's an article that has something for everyone - tax cutters, city service/quality of life advocates, and those who think that cutting taxes vs. city services is a "false choice."
Enjoy the read, pick out your favorite parts and discuss them in the comments. And for purposes of this post (and all of them), please take the time to create some kind of user name for yourself even if it is a pseudonym. This way we can keep track of who is saying what and not get stuck with a bunch of "anonymous" comments. Thanks!
Comments (2)
I think that article's right on the money, for the most part. In addition to issues that apply to city government, it also brings up the issue of state business taxes (Pennsylvania's aren't exactly low -- don't they go as high as 10%, depending on the size of the business?).
One thing I take issue with is the idea that congestion pricing will improve "transportation efficiency." I think suggesting that city's provide viable alternatives to driving, and an incentive to use them, would be a better approach.
Great article, overall. Can somebody pass it along to city council?
Posted by Goofy | March 17, 2008 11:47 AM
As a nearly lifelong resident of Silicon Valley, I can definitely say that Philadelphia has a lot of catching up to do. However, there's one major piece that the article did not mention that is key in creating a hub of innovation:
A large concentration of world-class universities. Silicon Valley has Stanford, Berkeley and dozens of smaller schools. Boston has Cambridge, MIT and that other school (among others). The list goes on.
There's many reasons that Mark Zuckerberg moved Facebook in the very early stages from Boston to Silicon Valley. But one of the main ones is the proximity to Stanford -- the Facebook office is literally across the street from the university. And Facebook gains from this. Stanford teaches classes like "Coding Applications for Facebook" and it provides a wealth of potential employees nearby (who can start out as interns while still in school).
Philadelphia is in a strong position here, with Penn, Drexel, Temple and dozens of other great schools in the area. The problem is, it's got to do a better job keeping them around. They would stick around if high-tech companies starting opening up job positions in the city ... so which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
Posted by Evan | March 17, 2008 7:47 PM