Tax Policy

An Inquirer article, "Version of New Jersey's new law to lure businesses has cost Pennsylvania" ( May 2,) misses the bigger picture. If Pennsylvania is to compete globally, it must have a pro-growth plan that attracts new companies to locate here and encourages those already in business here to expand operations. In other words, the state needs a tax policy that will enhance its attractiveness. More than half of all the states in the nation have passed some form of single sales factor tax apportionment, recognizing its importance in attracting, retaining, and expanding business.

City Council unanimously passed a resolution yesterday to hold public hearings on the city's current and future tax policy and to examine how that policy affects individuals and businesses. The resolution, sponsored by Councilmen Michael Nutter and James Kenney, calls on the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, which is chaired by Nutter, to seek advice and recommendations on tax policy and tax reform from local and national financial experts. The action came only hours before Republican mayoral nominee Sam Katz unveiled his plan to cut the city's wage tax to 4 percent by the end of the next mayor's first term.

I'm relieved that Prince Frederick Von Anhalt has come along to explain the rationale behind the recent vote in the House of Representatives in favor of cutting the tax on capital gains. I've been trying to explain the theory of federal tax policy for years without much success. Who would have thought that all we needed to clear this up was a prince who lives in Beverly Hills? A long time ago, I tried to explain that one way to look at tax policy was as a statement of the government's values.

The Nutter administration will experiment with new tax policies to retain research-and-development firms and the growing video-gaming software industry, Mayor Nutter said yesterday. In a speech before the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Nutter announced two pilot programs aimed at making the city's vilified business-privilege tax less onerous for those two sectors. Officials said the programs didn't require City Council approval and would be introduced by the revenue commissioner in the spring as new regulations.

Philadelphia's real-estate-tax disparity has been plaguing city finances and taxpayers for decades. Neighborhoods that were once thriving economic centers are now pockets of poverty. Neighborhoods that were once among our poorest are now home to million-dollar houses and condominiums. Despite shifts in wealth, demographics and population, our property-tax system has not changed with the times. Leaders in the city have chosen to sidestep this reality for years because of the perilous nature of dealing with tax policy.

ONE ISSUE always gets people talking: taxes. And on Thursday, you can talk with the people who have been charged with shaping tax policy for Philadelphia. Mayor Nutter's Task Force on Tax Policy and Economic Competitiveness holds a public hearing from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. Appointed by Nutter in February, the task force comprises corporate leaders, small-business owners, academics and union officials. They are charged with making recommendations to overhaul Philadelphia's tax system.

Bernard Wolfman, 87, the University of Pennsylvania Law School dean from 1970 to 1975, died of heart failure Saturday, Aug. 20, while visiting a relative in West Orange, N.J. He resided in Cambridge, Mass. Michael A. Fitts, current Penn Law dean, wrote in an appreciation on the Penn Law website: "For more than 60 years, Bernie was a highly distinguished tax academic and expert - as well as a very loyal Penn alumnus. He will be greatly missed. " Mr. Wolfman went on to be Fessenden Professor of Law at Harvard Law School from 1976 to 2007.

As much as I would like to deny it, I am creeping ever closer to retirement, and adding my name to the rolls of all of those who receive government assistance - in my case, Social Security. After 42 years of steady labor - two years as a high school chemistry teacher, 30 years in the chemical industry, and the last 10 years on the faculty and staff of Ursinus College, I have decided to retire from full-time employment in June. Thereafter, I plan to become an adjunct faculty member at Ursinus, do some consulting for industry, and tackle the huge stack of topics that I have been wanting to write about.

THIS WEEK, City Hall was the site of two holiday miracles: from the mayor, we got the return of Christmas; and from City Council, a passionate debate about the economic future of Philadelphia. Council just spent two long days debating a radical change to Philadelphia's business taxes. Proposed by City Councilwoman Maria Quiones Sanchez and Councilman Bill Green, the bill would alter the current tax-cutting strategy and replace it with a system that they say would redistribute the burden from smaller Philadelphia-based businesses to big corporations headquartered elsewhere.

One look at Philadelphia's skyline will tell you much has happened in Center City over the last 15 years. New construction has literally changed the face of downtown. But take any street and drive out of downtown and you will run into neighborhoods where the opposite has taken place. Abandonment and deterioration have literally changed the face of many city neighborhoods. Public policy has been a tool in generating economic development in Center City. Incentives like land acquisition, federal and state funds and special service programs have been effectively applied to move certain projects along.

Philadelphia's real-estate-tax disparity has been plaguing city finances and taxpayers for decades. Neighborhoods that were once thriving economic centers are now pockets of poverty. Neighborhoods that were once among our poorest are now home to million-dollar houses and condominiums. Despite shifts in wealth, demographics and population, our property-tax system has not changed with the times. Leaders in the city have chosen to sidestep this reality for years because of the perilous nature of dealing with tax policy.

This is an opinion of the Daily News People's Editorial Board, a group of 10 citizens who gather to debate hot topics in the city. For more, go to philly.com/peb WE the people began talking about property taxes by taking an anonymous survey of our board. Each member who owns property wrote down the market values of our homes, and what we pay in property taxes. One owner of a $100,000 home pays $5,000 in taxes, while the owner of a $300,000 home pays $3,000; an owner of a $350,000 home pays $6,700.

As much as I would like to deny it, I am creeping ever closer to retirement, and adding my name to the rolls of all of those who receive government assistance - in my case, Social Security. After 42 years of steady labor - two years as a high school chemistry teacher, 30 years in the chemical industry, and the last 10 years on the faculty and staff of Ursinus College, I have decided to retire from full-time employment in June. Thereafter, I plan to become an adjunct faculty member at Ursinus, do some consulting for industry, and tackle the huge stack of topics that I have been wanting to write about.

Shelley Adler, the widow of former Democratic Rep. John H. Adler, will seek her party's nomination to run for the seat her husband lost in 2010, she announced Monday. The lawyer and former Cherry Hill councilwoman hopes to run as the Democratic candidate in the recently redrawn Third Congressional District, which covers much of Burlington and Ocean Counties. She would likely oppose Republican Jon Runyan, the former Eagles player, who defeated her husband and faces his first reelection bid. Adler, 52, said she had considered becoming a candidate "for the last couple of months.

CHANDLER, Ariz. - If President Obama is showing some swagger, it shouldn't be a surprise. His job approval ratings point to an uptick. The Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden just pulled off a daring rescue that Obama authorized in Somalia. He's fresh off a big speech before Congress, and the Republicans who want his job are criticizing each other probably more than they are Obama. As he hits the road for three days of travel to important political states, Obama is on a roll.

Bernard Wolfman, 87, the University of Pennsylvania Law School dean from 1970 to 1975, died of heart failure Saturday, Aug. 20, while visiting a relative in West Orange, N.J. He resided in Cambridge, Mass. Michael A. Fitts, current Penn Law dean, wrote in an appreciation on the Penn Law website: "For more than 60 years, Bernie was a highly distinguished tax academic and expert - as well as a very loyal Penn alumnus. He will be greatly missed. " Mr. Wolfman went on to be Fessenden Professor of Law at Harvard Law School from 1976 to 2007.

An Inquirer article, "Version of New Jersey's new law to lure businesses has cost Pennsylvania" ( May 2,) misses the bigger picture. If Pennsylvania is to compete globally, it must have a pro-growth plan that attracts new companies to locate here and encourages those already in business here to expand operations. In other words, the state needs a tax policy that will enhance its attractiveness. More than half of all the states in the nation have passed some form of single sales factor tax apportionment, recognizing its importance in attracting, retaining, and expanding business.

Shale gas is good for health, wealth Regarding the editorial Thursday ("Siding with drillers"), according to the Global Warming Policy Foundation, shale gas will have the effect of distributing both wealth and health more evenly around the world because it is both environmentally friendlier and cheaper than coal. Kudos to Gov. Corbett for insisting that our state's tax policy toward this nascent industry is such that we will be a technological and production leader in this transformative industry.

HARRISBURG - Call it the war of the think tanks. No sooner had the ink dried on a report by a liberal-leaning think tank on taxes paid by natural gas drillers than its polar opposite on the political spectrum was pointing out the report's errors. On Tuesday, the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center released a report saying big energy companies, including those drilling in the Marcellus Shale, paid far less in state and local taxes than the industry claimed.