- And this blank page where my fingers move
- Pennsylvania Hunger Games Diet: Cash for Corporations, Cuts for Kids
- The Incredible Shrinking Mayor
- Multi-tasking with the 1% … killing the schools AND making the poor pay for their funeral.
- Council Can Give the SRC the Money to NOT Privatize the System
- Predatory Payday Lending Bill Flies Out of Cramped PA House Committee
- Let the Games Begin: PA Senate Announces Details of Budget Proposal
- Good News on PA Revenue But Don’t Count Your Blessings Just Yet
- Defeat Corbett
- Set off without a Paddle: Unpacking the School District’s Disaster Capitalism
Michael Nutter's Housing Plan
Submitted by mdcphilly on Tue, 02/13/2007 - 11:35pm.
Nutter introduces the plan's key points himself.
You can also read the plan. Commentary has already been substantial so I don't have anything to add.
Edited: You can still sign Nutter's petition against the repeal if the pullback seems too good to be true. Alternatively you can go have a snowball fight with Tom Knox.
Dan P. has an analysis of
Dan P. has an analysis of the plan here.
My Two Cents
Generally I like it: He includes moderate as well as low income housing into the equation. I feel as if too often politicians pay lip service to the needs of the very poor and forget that those in the middle feel the pinch, too. I also like that for the most part, he provides an idea of where the money for these programs will come from.
For me, the paper raises several issues:
First, regarding a property tax increase cap, adding taxes onto the back end could have the effect of devouring any equity built into a home, particularly in rapidly gentrifying areas (are we adding interest on these taxes?). People would still be forced to sell just to maintain equity. Furthermore, this idea could have the effect of severing a neighborhood’s intergenerational ties: although the first generation would be able to stay in their home, their children would be forced to sell the home to pay off the back taxes if those taxes became due at time of transfer. I suppose these two issues could be addressed via the homestead exemption, particularly if tax liens are deferred until an actual sale but not at transfer from one generation to the next (or a complete ban on the forced sale of a property designated as a “homestead” to pay off liens, as some states have done). I tried to get onto the Board of Revision of Taxes to get a better idea of the current structure but the site is down.
Second: what powers will the Development Coordinator have? Nutter is extremely vague on this. “Bringing all the different agencies to the table” smacks of more bureaucracy. I would be in favor of giving the DC broad power to amend rules of agencies under his or her jurisdiction, rather than to just write report and make proposals to Council. I would also like to see this person have some input on zoning.
Finally, who decides which areas will be subject to the 5, 10, and 15 year tax abatement? Hopefully Nutter can provide a fair and reliable formula and not just leave it up to the vagaries of the political process.
Better Zoning ...Another paper to come
J. Young: The point you bring up about delayed taxes devouring equity is a good one. I'm not sure anyone has an answer.
I'm would think that some people, however, would contend the creating more integrated and better designed communities that allieviate some of the detrimental effects of gentrification, can be done via zoning reform that encourages the building of mix use communities throughout the city. (Nutter actually specifically discusses inclusionary housing issues in this housing plan.) It is worth noting that Nutter will be unveiling a detailing zoning policy in the future. I think that a well thought out zoning code entails more than just the tweaks and is actually part of the fundamental change that this city needs to help all its citizens live in decent neighborhoods.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
no means test on property tax slowdown?
I'm going to read his Housing Plan, but this made it sound like there's no means test on the controlled increase in property taxes. Why not?
He's right, we have a lot of poor and mid-income homeowners who can't afford the rapid increases in taxes (especially folks who thought they bought into a middle class neighborhood 20 years ago and now it's yuppie paradise, such as Manayunk), but if your family is pulling down 200 G's a year, I could care less about you seeing your property tax increases slowed.
The City needs money. I hate to slow down the money pipes from the people who can afford to pay it.
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BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project
Reverse Tax Abatement
For low income people who have owned their home for 20 years!
Let's work that out!
Supporting Michael Nutter in 2007!
i got that for ya gaetano
It's not quite an abatement, but I see your Nutter and raise you a Fattah. From the Fattah Housing plan:
Those aren't bad, Ray. I
Those aren't bad, Ray. I like the second, in particular. We have an aging population, and one that will need care.
But, I see your Fattah and raise you a Gaetano (I cut and paste from a previous post):
(1) a reverse abatement for homeowners who have lived in the same place for X amount of years and fall within a certain income window--or equation, which is in part based on the upswing of market value within a certain radius;
(2) (this is a variation on what you wrote) allowing the person to sell a deed restriction on their land that would not allow them to sell the property for market value in the future, but for a % of market value to approved affordable housing candidates. I'm not going to explain this as well as I'd like to, but they sell this deed restriction an the They affordable housing trust administered by the PHA or PHFA. The money they get in return equate to a % of market value. So, if they needed $15,000.00, they would only be able to sell the home for X% of market value when they did. The sale would be administered by the agencies above to ensure compliance. And, to ensure the home was not sold to just anyone, buyers would have to be approved affordable housing purchasers.
This would ensure people have money in their pockets, that we have a steady stream of affordable housing and that no one is getting ripped off.
I would say that the number two option only goes down as far as 70% and is an option that can only be used once. And, people would have to choose between option one and two.
Supporting Michael Nutter in 2007!
I'll tell Chaka
what's cool about the Nutter and Fattah housing plans is that if either wins, we improve what we have and hopefully these two force a sort of bottom line on housing that the others (Brady, Evans, Knox) will have to start from.
Yeah, we seem to getting a
Yeah, we seem to getting a race to the top. Cool.
I met Chaka on Saturday. We
I met Chaka on Saturday. We talked about guns, guns control and stuff. Seems like a decent guy and understanding of the issue. Both complained about the NRA a bit too.
Supporting Michael Nutter in 2007!
A means test isn't allowed under the PA constitution.
Otherwise, we could be talking about more progressive taxation and be done with it.
Change the Constitution
I've called for changing the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow for progressive taxation. If we can't do it in the rest of the state, let's at least do it in Philly.
I'd like to see some Mayoral candidates agree with me on this.
So why are PHA housing
So why are PHA housing income guidelines legal?
I'm not sure that it's too much of an issue anyway since if you chop up the city by precints or census tracks by housing values, the chances are decent that those values correspond to neighborhood income so the impending reassessment could still be progressive in nature--for most people--and perhaps that's the best that can be done.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
Maybe cause they are
Maybe cause they are federally funded?
Yes, I guess that's right
I was thinking somehow this might not fit in there, but I guess you are right. Shuckee Darn.
I both agree with Marc below that we should change the Constitution to allow for progressive taxation,
but a mayoral candidate should offer policies that fit the world he lives in, and that's a silly state Constitution in this case.
So I guess I can't snark on Nutter for this one. Ah well, live to snark another day.
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BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project
Nutter Housing Plan, pg. 6
Below in italics sounds something like means testing to me but I imagine Nutter would welcome suggestions on specifics.
"I will propose and work with City Council to enact a cap and deferral plan for paying property taxes that will protect property owners from unreasonably large and rapid increases in their taxes. Under my plan, no property owner would ever face an increase in their property tax exceeding 10 percent in a single year. Property owners who qualify on the basis of low and/or fixed incomes would have lower caps, including zero increases for very low-income owners. In all cases, the amount of tax owed by the property owner above the capped amount would be deferred until the sale of the property.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
sort of meant one in the opposite direction
Why do I care if a millionaire doesn't see more than a 10% increase? Stick it to 'em.
Yes, I'm a class war guy. Sue me.
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BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project
Under what circumstances
Under what circumstances would someone see a 10% increase in property value and correspondenly higher taxes? Perhaps in a rapidly gentrify neighborhood for a year or two as we have see recently, but that is certainly not the norm.
If it's new construction--that won't be an immediate issue because of the tax abatement which is a separate question.
I think that some homeowners may see double or trip tax rates--yikes--with the impending reassessment. Yet, if you think about it, if your assessment doubles from a $100 to $200 and is raised at ten percent a year, it'll catch up to what it should be in less than a decade. For the most part, that's the worst case scenario that won't be all that common. Given the unpopularity of raising taxes, the proposal seems to strike a balance that allows most people--the majority of people in the city--to adjust to higher housing taxes over time. I don't know how you get the rich to pay up faster than everyone else or if that's even legally feasible. Furthermore, a properly done reassessment would actually reduce taxes for those is less valuable communities so they'd still be better off if the city decides its real estate taxes should be more or less revenue neutral to what they are now. How many millionaires live in this city anyway? So how much of an issue is it other than class rhetoric posturing?
Nutter didn't say when the 10% limit would begin to apply. Generally, this it is my own answer and is purely speculative.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
My property taxes are $100.
I know. This blows my mind. I could probably afford a faster than 10% increase on my taxes were my neighborhood to become more attractive to buyers, though.
I almost hate admitting this publicly, but it's crazy and it's true.
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BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project
$100 a year or a month?
$100 a year or a month? I thought that I was getting away with murder for paying $730 in property taxes a year, but I guess not. I think that mine will be going up soon if my neighborhood grows the way I want it to.
a year
that's per year. No joke. Just got my bank statement last week. I know... it's insane.
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BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project
Snowball Fight?
Where is the snowball fight with Knox? Is this one of those Craig's List things where everyone shows up at Rittenhouse Square at 7 for a massive snowball fight with strangers? That could be the best campaign event EVER.
I violated two blogging
I violated two blogging rules: I hijacked my own thread and I wasn't nice to Tom Knox. Quick: pelt me with snow balls.
Or go build 1000 ice cops and some affordable igloos if you wish.
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Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
Addition to previous comment...
For some reason, I can't get in to edit it. (Grrr..) I meant to add that only the eldery and infirm are exempt from the state constitution requirements for equal taxation.
Nutter- Cap on property tax
We definetly need to cap the annual property tax increase to protect seniors and long term homeowners who live pay check to pay check. Great initiative!
The only problem is
he wants to cut or cap every tax there is. And spend gazillions more to make everything better. At the same time. His policies are a hoax. I've heard of tax and spend liberals. Nutter is a tax cut and spend . . . I don't know what to call it.
Grind that axe, Stan
Gazillions, Stan? What specific proposals of Michael's have you determined add up to "gazillions" in new spending.
You clearly have some kind of personal grudge against Michael, for whatever reason. Throwing around words like gazillions and hoax does nothing to demonstrate any credibility on your part. How about if you grind your axe quietly by yourself for a while.
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor