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PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia City Council on Thursday rejected Mayor Cherelle Parker's controversial proposed tax on rideshare apps and delivery services that were part of a $7B budget plan designed to fund public schools and improve city infrastructure.
City Council members approved the budget, but also voted down a proposed tax increase on hotels and short-term rentals in Philadelphia that would have been earmarked for initiatives to address homelessness.
What we know:
Mayor Parker's plan to charge rideshare users $1 per trip was met with controversy when it was first proposed in March. The money collected from the proposed tax was planned to fund the city's public schools system, which is facing its own budget deficit.
"We have made real progress in our schools, and I am not going to allow us to lose ground. This is about protecting that progress and making sure every child in Philadelphia has a real shot," said Mayor Parker.
The proposal came with pushback from rideshare users and companies like Uber and Lyft. In a statement, Uber said the tax would "worsen Philadelphia’s affordability and transportation crisis," adding that rideshare already provides millions to city schools annually.
City council on Thursday also voted down a proposed 25-cent tax on delivery services from companies like Amazon and GoPuff. Money from that tax, Parker said, was designed to fund infrastructure improvements like fixing potholes.
The delivery tax excluded essentials such as food, baby products and medication, and would have been levied on retailers, not individual consumers. Parker estimated the tax would have generated $15M annually.
The hotel and short-term rental tax, including platforms like Airbnb, lost steam after it failed to gain support from state lawmakers, according to a source at City Hall. Money collected from that tax would have gone towards addressing homeless prevention services.
What we don't know:
Many details of the full $7B budget proposal remain unknown at this time.