Alex Lloyd Gross Delaware Valley News.com File Photo Mayor Cherelle Parker.
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Yesterday, Philadelphia City Council made a decision that pissed off Mayor Parker so badly, that she went on TV and yelled about it. Her ambitious tax plan was shot down. This includes no new taxes on delivery services, ride share, sales tax, nothing that Parker proposed went anywhere. The tax money was supposed to go benefit the Philadelphia School District.
Most residents in this area could not be more happy. Those taxes will be pushed down to the consumer. Not absorbed by companies. Parker said that the billionaires are rejoicing about this, but that is not entirely true. It is the citizens that are rejoicing.
Alex Lloyd Gross File Photo Delaware Valley News.com Phila. City Hall
Sitting council members said that the tax would unduly burden people. Not everyone makes $200,000 plus a year in pay like Parker does. They make between $9.00- $15.00hr. Those places of employment are not going to raise pay to their workers. If they cannot make the money back, they will lay off workers.
Council voted to give money to the school district that was saved elsewhere. They school district said it is not enough. It is a dilemma that cannot be won and everyone is happy.
The city budget will be ratified and voted on during the June 11 2026 session. Parker was adamant she will be back with her tax plan. During her news conference, she took to raising her voice and lambasting everyone that voted against her plan. Many people feel that her yelling and acting like a child when her plan did not go her way was a poor example of what to do when you don’t get your way. Children who look up to her may think that this is they way to behave.
Uber, a company that would be impact by the new taxes sent out a statement that read in part: We thank City Council for rejecting the Mayor’s proposed $1 rideshare tax and standing up for affordability for the hundreds of thousands of Philadelphia riders and drivers who spoke out against it,”
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com Phila. School District headquarters.
Other taxes killed were A new tax on rideshare trips intended to raise funding for the city’s school system
A new retail delivery tax on certain goods that would be intended to help the city afford a pothole repair squad
A tax on stays at hotel and short term rentals intended to generate revenue to be used on homelessness prevention initiatives