Are The Taxes Too Damn High In Philly?

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia's citizens already have the second-highest tax burden among the nation's cities, according to an annual study. So what are the 20 plus taxes currently charged by the city government?

The assessment that Philly's taxes are "too damn high" actually comes from the government of the District of Columbia, which does the annual study that compares tax burdens across 51 cities.

Read The DC Tax Assessment

The last study was released in September 2010, and Philadelphia is a solid number two, as the city that taxes its citizens the most.

Philadelphia trails the tax capital of America - Bridgeport, Conn. - but the city has a higher per-capita tax burden than New York City, Des Moines and Detroit, says the study. (FYI, Washington, DC comes in at number 25.)

Philadelphia also the highest tax burden for low-income families (with annual income of $25,000) in the country.

Source: District Of Columbia Study

The DC study looks at income, property, auto and sales taxes, and it is extensive.

Taxes are a touchy subject these days in Philadelphia, as Mayor Michael Nutter and city council ponder new taxes and fees to help out the Philadelphia school district.

Fox 29 counted at least 20 taxes on the books in Philadelphia by looking at two official city Web sites.

The official Summary Of Tax Rates lists 26 taxes , including 8 taxes that have been repealed, like the Bowling Alley tax, the Mercantile tax and some personal property taxes.

But the Revenue Department Web site lists two other taxes that aren't on the summary list.

The Tobacco tax is paid by retailers , but not for selling cigarettes. It applied to cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and rolling papers.

And then there is the Valet Parking tax , which is on 20 percent of gross receipts.

The section of the city code on taxes also lists a few extinct taxes, like the auctioneer and condo conversion taxes.

The big money maker for Philadelphia is the wage tax, which accounts for 47 percent of all taxes taken in by the city.

Property taxes bring in another 17 percent, while the business privilege taxes add another 15 percent. Sales taxes bring in another 10 percent.

Of the three tax measures proposed by Mayor Nutter, only one is a new tax: the much-debated soda tax that would add a two-cent-per ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

The other two measures involve higher fees on property and parking.

Source: City Documents