The City of Philadelphia has conducted property reassessments for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with rising home values set to drive up property taxes. To offset the additional burden on residents, city officials said Tuesday they are looking to soften the blow by reducing other taxes, particularly the wage tax, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
For the 580,000 residential, commercial, industrial and institutional properties that were recently reassessed across Philadelphia, the city found a 21% increase in aggregate value since the last time properties were evaluated in tax year 2020. That includes a 31% increase for residential properties. The city estimates that the surge in property values will bring an additional $92 million in tax revenue to the city's general fund in fiscal 2023 and $460 million over the course of five years.
In response, Mayor Jim Kenney is proposing a reduction in the city's oft-criticized wage tax. For city residents, the wage tax would decrease from 3.84% to 3.7% under Kenney's proposal. For non-residents, the rate would decrease from 3.4481% to 3.44%. City officials said those would be the lowest wage tax rates since 1976 and estimate the cuts would provide a total of $260 million in relief.
Read more about the proposal to cut the city wage tax at PBJ.com.
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