The city of Philadelphia’s plan to reassess all properties within city limits for real estate tax purposes has generated a significant amount of recent publicity and some controversy. Mayor Michael A. Nutter has been candid in supporting the Actual Value Initiative as a process that will generate up to $90 million in much-needed tax revenues annually, much of it benefiting the city’s struggling school district. Opponents, including many City Council members, criticize the plan as a back-door tax increase.
The complex issues underlying the controversy are illustrative of the ongoing conundrum many municipalities face in assuring the adequacy of real estate tax revenues on which they rely to finance municipal operations.
