Tax Cut Promises on the Campaign Trail

Philadelphia mayoral candidate Michael Nutter has a plan to make his city more competitive: sweeping tax cuts. The former city councilman has made the repeal of the Business Privilege Tax (BPT) the centerpiece of his campaign. There is just one problem — eliminating the BPT will leave a $109 million hole in the municipal budget and could potentially make the city more unattractive to businesses. Not surprisingly, Nutter has failed to explain how his tax cut will impact city services. Ben Waxman, ITEP’s summer intern and Philadelphia-native, takes on Nutter’s proposal in an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Citypaper.