Taxes

Citified

Clarke Calls 3-Cent Soda Tax “Divisive,” Says It Won’t Pass

Some City Council members argue that a 15-cent tax on beverage containers is more fair than a three-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks because it would […]

Citified

Op-Ed: Kenney Broke His Campaign Promises to Minorities and the Poor

(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from guest writer Nelson Diaz. Diaz is a former Common Pleas judge and former general counsel for the […]

Citified

We Want Answers: Harold Honickman, Soda-Tax Opponent

The soda lobby has spent at least $1.7 million fighting Mayor Kenney’s proposed soda tax, which might actually pass next month. Why the effort? Is the […]

Citified

Reynolds Brown: My Container Tax Is Less Regressive Than Kenney’s Soda Tax

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced a bill on Thursday that would create a 15-cent tax on beverage containers, as an alternative to Mayor Jim Kenney’s plan to tax soda […]

Citified

Councilwoman Wants to Tax Containers Instead of Soda

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown will introduce a bill on Thursday levying a tax on beverage containers as an alternative to Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed soda […]

Citified

Where Does Darrell Clarke Stand on the Soda Tax? And Does it Matter?

Before City Council’s weekly meeting last Thursday, Council President Darrell Clarke apparently told Newsworks that he thought a three-cents-per-ounce tax on soda — which Mayor […]

Citified

PHOTOS: Soda-Tax Opponents Rally at City Hall

Nothing like a caravan of tractor trailers laying on their horns and blocking traffic to strike sympathy in the hearts of passersby. On Wednesday afternoon, […]

Citified

Bloomberg May Give Even More to Support Philly Soda Tax

The Inquirer is reporting this morning that Michael Bloomberg, the super-wealthy media mogul and three-term mayor of New York City, has thrown an undisclosed amount […]

Citified

Op-Ed: Bernie Sanders Is Wrong About the Soda Tax

(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from guest writer Randi Weingarten, written in response to an op-ed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Weingarten is […]

Citified

Bernie Sanders Op-Ed: A Soda Tax Would Hurt Philly’s Low-Income Families

(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from guest writer Bernie Sanders. Sanders is a Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. senator representing Vermont. Pennsylvania’s primary is […]

Citified

Bernie Sanders Says Kenney’s Soda Tax Is “Regressive”

Overnight, Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed soda tax has inexplicably become a presidential issue. On Wednesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came out in support of the […]

Citified

Kenney’s Soda Tax Gets a Big-Name Supporter: Hillary Clinton

The war over Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposal to tax sweetened beverages is fierce. The soda lobby is spending at least $1.5 million to oppose his plan, and Council members are raising pointed questions about it. Meanwhile, a […]

Citified

Insider: Allan Domb’s Truly Awful Idea

(Editor’s note: This is an opinion column from a Citified insider.)  Many Philadelphians cheered real estate developer Allan Domb’s election to City Council last year. […]

Citified

Most Philly Voters Support a Soda Tax, Says Kenney Poll*

Fifty-seven percent of Philadelphia voters supported a soda tax last fall, according to a poll conducted for Jim Kenney’s mayoral campaign at the time. Forty percent opposed it. That gives […]

Citified

What You Could Talk About Over a $380 Coffee with Mayor Kenney

Mayor Jim Kenney is an expensive date. Friends of Chester Arthur, a nonprofit that benefits Chester A. Arthur School in the Southwest Center City/G-Ho/Anderson Yards […]