The Chamber supports Mayor Kenney’s commitment to restarting wage and business tax reductions to spur economic growth and job creation, as well as the promise in his proposed budget to expand access to quality pre-k education for Philadelphia children and to fund other education and community development activities.
These issues – supporting tax reform, economy building, and public education – are inextricably linked, and that is why they have always been public policy priorities for the Chamber of Commerce and its members. Tax reform spurs growth by inducing companies to remain here and businesses from elsewhere to locate in Philadelphia and create jobs. The Chamber commends the Kenney Administration for proposing the resumption of the successful strategy of incremental reductions in wage and business taxes — first begun during the mayoralties of Ed Rendell and John Street, and continued by Mayor Nutter until the 2009 recession. The strategy resumed in limited fashion in recent budgets.
The Chamber strongly encourages the resumption of this well-tested tax reform strategy by the Kenney Administration and City Council. The mayor and Council have available tools at their disposal to further reduce wage and business taxes, and the Chamber supports the proposed reduction of the Business Income and Receipts net income tax from its current rate of 6.39 percent to 6.15 percent over the course of the Five-Year Financial and Strategic Plan. The administration plans to reduce the resident wage tax to 3.72 percent by FY21 – its lowest rate in more than 40 years. The Chamber strongly supports these pro-growth reforms, and encourages steps that would allow for these tax reductions to be increased in the next few years to support growth and job creation.
Supporting improvements and access to quality public education is equally important to the Chamber and business community. Improving public education for Philadelphia schoolchildren affords them an opportunity at a more productive life, and creates a more qualified workforce for Philadelphia businesses. The Chamber of Commerce has consistently supported increased resources for the School District of Philadelphia in recent years, and advocated for passage of a sales tax extension, a cigarette tax, and modest property tax increases. Council and the mayor have increased local taxes by $400 million in the last 5 budgets, largely for public education.
Mayor Kenney’s proposed expansion of pre-k education to reach thousands more Philadelphia children is a bold, aspirational initiative already attracting praise from the business community. As one business leader noted this week, Philadelphia has the opportunity to implement a policy that can grow jobs and businesses, attract and retain talented workers, and help public education. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce agrees, and strongly supports the mayor’s proposal to expand access to quality pre-k education. Under the direction of the Chamber’s Executive Committee and President and CEO Rob Wonderling, the Chamber is engaging the Kenney Administration and offering business and non-profit leadership expertise to help develop an operational model for expanding pre-k educational opportunities citywide.
The Chamber also supports Mayor Kenney’s call for increased investments in parks and recreation centers in neighborhoods across Philadelphia. Strategic investments in city infrastructure in neighborhoods can improve quality of life – and catalyze growth along neighborhood commercial corridors – a key pillar of the Chamber’s Roadmap for Growth campaign. The Chamber urges the Kenney Administration to address pension reform; rising pension costs will consume 15 percent of the city’s operating budget next year. The business community stands ready to work with the mayor and Council to address these and other issues, including ways to improve efficiencies and effectiveness to lower the cost of government.
We look forward to continuing to engage Mayor Kenney and City Council to produce a city budget that appropriately invests in children, citizens and businesses to create a pro-growth environment that benefits us all.
