The Center City District (CCD) and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC) have released A Barrier to Growth: Philadelphia's Business Income and Receipts Tax, which focuses on a tax that multiple commissions and reports have suggested is counter-productive to job growth and four mayors over two decades have endeavored to reduce either through across the board cuts or, more often, new exemptions.

In today’s highly competitive environment, it is essential that Philadelphia not only promotes its strengths, but also candidly assesses and corrects its deficiencies. Since its inception, BIRT has been structured to assess some businesses but exempt others. Through a detailed analysis of data made available by the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Revenue, this report calculates the significant costs BIRT imposes on some businesses and how a series of additional exemptions and credits that have been legislated in the last two decades have eliminated the liability for approximately 75% of those who file, concentrating a larger burden on a smaller number of businesses.

The report examines the impact of the recent exclusion from taxation of the first $100,000 in gross receipts, the Job Creation Tax Credit and the State’s Keystone Opportunity Zone Program, calculating the amount of revenue that has been foregone by the City and the impact of both the tax and the exemptions on business growth.

To get the full report, Click Here.

For a full selection of Center City District reports, visit CenterCityPhila.org/research-reports.

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