City workers who owe back taxes in Philadelphia are getting their pay docked starting today, say officials.
City Controller Alan Burkovitz directed the city treasurer to withhold up to 20 percent of employees’ income if they owe taxes.
Part of his tax collection initiative, Burkovitz warned the delinquent city employees Oct. 1 that their pay would be docked if they did not pay up. Many workers immediately paid their taxes or entered into a payment agreement, but 405 city employees owing $2.6 million did not.
“We provided city employees with ample opportunity to resolve their tax delinquencies before resorting to withholding their pay,” said Butkovitz. “Our initial outreach resulted in hundreds of employees paying their past due taxes. Now we must resort to withholding a percentage of some employees' salaries to force compliance.”
Under the withholding process, 60 percent of the culpable workers will have paid off their taxes in less than a year. By docking employees pay, the city will receive more than $1.3 million over the next five years.
