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04/29/2003 Saidel's Land Tax Proposal Gets Chilly Reception in City Council (Ed Goppelt)

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• Hallwatch News

Photos by Steven Blumberg

Note: for the sake of those with slow Internet connections, pictures are displayed at their smallest possible size. To enlarge the photos, simply click on the size controls under any photo.

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What's missing from this picture?
2003/04/29 Answer: Councilmembers Cohen, Kenney, Ortiz, DiCicco, Nutter, Krajewski, Mariano, and O'Neill.

This photo, taken early in the hearing, shows Councilmembers Clarke, Blackwell, Miller, Tasco, Goode, Reynolds Brown, Rizzo and Verna. At 2:30 pm when I (Ed Goppelt) testified, only Councilmembers Tasco and Cohen were still present.

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The Crowd at the Land Tax Hearing
2003/04/29 When the hearing started at around 10:30 am every seat was taken and some people had to wait outside. By the time the hearing ended at 3:00 pm, Council chambers were practically empty.

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Roger McCain Testifies as Joshua Vincent Eyes the Camera
2003/04/29 McCain is a Professor of Economics at Drexel University. As Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Economics Vincent advocates around the country for the Land Tax. At the request of the City, McCain and his colleague Paul Jensen looked at the land tax in Philadelphia. Among the conclusions contained in their report: 78.2% of all Philadelphians would see their property tax bill reduced under the land tax and that the BRT's land building split is accurate. The BRT had raised the question of whether the split was sufficiently accurate to permit a switch to the land tax.

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Citizens Wait for the Hearing to Begin
2003/04/29

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Brett Mandel Testifies
2003/04/29 Mandel is Director of the City Controller's Financial and Policy Analysis Unit. Mandel has functioned as Controller Saidel's point man on tax reform. He was the principle architect of the Controller's Tax Structure Analysis Report a comprehensive look at Philadelphia's crazy patchwork of taxes.