Philadelphia council rejects Uber, Lyft, Airbnb taxes, passes Mayor Parker's preliminary budget
Philadelphia's proposed taxes on ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, hotels and short-term rentals like Airbnb, were killed from Mayor Cherelle Parker's proposed budget Thursday.
Philadelphia City Council's Committee of the Whole on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a version of Parker's budget without the proposed ride-hailing, delivery and short-term rental taxes.
"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," Uber said in a statement. "More than 90,000 letters were submitted in opposition to the tax, sending a clear message that Philadelphians want affordable transportation options and oppose higher costs on working families."
Wednesday night, sources in City Council told CBS News Philadelphia that none of the new taxes in the budget — the ride-hailing tax, a tax on short-term rentals, or the delivery tax to fund a pothole squad — had the nine votes needed to pass.
Councilmembers also said proposed increases to the city's hotel tax and increases to existing taxes on short-term rentals like Airbnb were not going to happen, as they would require state approval.
Council plans to provide the $48 million to the school district that the ride-hailing tax would have generated for schools as a one-time infusion of money, but in a letter obtained by CBS News Philadelphia, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington said that's not enough.
In the letter to Parker, Council President Kenyatta Johnson, Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Majority Whip Isaiah Thomas, Watlington said they won't be able to use that money to restore the 340 school-based jobs in question.
Watlington said during a press conference that unless additional revenue comes through, the current plan is to cut 340 school-based positions and move workers in those jobs to other vacant roles in the school system. The superintendent did not say what that money would be used for if not for preserving those positions.
"To me, that's very, very short-sighted; it doesn't show leadership," Johnson said.
Councilmembers and the school district have been at odds since a controversial vote by the school board to approve a facilities plan that will close more than a dozen schools.
The district needs funding that is recurring and predictable, Parker said in a press conference Thursday afternoon.
"Billionaire tech companies won, they won round one today," Parker said, adding that she will continue to fight.
Parker's initially proposed budget in March set the rideshare tax to 20 cents per ride. Later in March, Parker instead proposed the $1-per-ride rate after receiving new data about the School District of Philadelphia's $300 million deficit.
Councilmembers said they were exploring options to fund education without asking Philadelphians to pay more.
City Council is expected to vote to officially approve the budget on June 11.
