Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly’s proposed property-tax increase to fund schools is actually bad for city kids

Already throughout Pennsylvania, those making less than $20,000 are paying a much greater share in taxes (at 12 percent) than those making more than $426,000 (at just 4.2 percent), according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

City officials’ proposing to drive up property taxes as a way to finance new city largesse — such as the reconstituted public school system — seems calculated to drive out less desirable low-income populations. There’s a hint of classism in this move: “Who wants to deal with them?” Meanwhile, with the property-tax abatement, they leave out lower-income residents in favor of newer (whiter) residents and businesses. Read more