In the news, May 14, 2010 from NBCs Philadelphia affiliate:
If you live in Philadelphia, higher property taxes and a fee for trash pickup may be two things you’ll pay for next year. Philadelphia City Council approved Mayor Michael Nutter’s $3.9 billion budget for 2011 with a vote Thursday evening. To fill in a $150 million budget gap, officials made several tax increases, the most notable being a 9.9-percent jump in property taxes, officials told NBC Philadelphia. That increase will only last for two years [That's what they all say]. The 9.9 percent temporary tax hike has to get final approval from council next week. Council also passed measures that will institute a new, yearly $300 fee for trash pickup from small businesses, duplexes and apartment buildings and a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco.
Flash Back to November 2004
Comcast Center - Philly
Comcast was not able to get their new COMCAST CENTER at One Pennsylvania Plaza in Philadelphia designated as a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone (KOZ) even though they had the support of Pennsylvania Governor Rendell. The KOZ designation would have exempted tenants from most taxes for fifteen years as a way to encourage development in disadvantaged areas. This ploy did not get past House Republicans in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. However, later that year Governor Rendell released $30 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Budget to Liberty Property Trust. Through the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, Comcast received $12.75 million that included a $4 million opportunity grant, $6.75 million in job creation tax credits, and $2 million in job training assistance. Despite their failure of receiving KOZ status, the project received $42.75 million in financial incentives from the state. [Hmmm, do you thing that Rendell owns any Comcast stock or just gets paid under the table?]
Jump forward to April 28th, 2010 (less than 1-month ago)
Comcast Corp (CMCSA) reports 4th quarter earnings. Revenues are up 3.8% to $9,2 BILLION [with a capital "B" folks]. Comcast’s stock has risen around 12% this year but counterparts like Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have risen around 29% and 23 % respectively. [Translation: Comcast and the cable industry as a whole are robbing the public blind and are laughing all the way to the bank]
For those of you that have been following the bouncing ball, we have a clear illustration of some of the root causes of the problems facing tax paying home owners in Philly today.
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship” — Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee