Op-Ed
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Comment at southphillyreview.com/opinion
ing towed out of a private lot or driveway. The current system in place for when a car should be towed has proven to be flawed. Currently, the only requirement for a car to be towed in our city is the tow truck driver needs to take a photo of the illegally parked vehicle. This has led to companies taking advantage of the good faith bestowed upon them by hanging false no parking signs, or towing legally parked cars into prohibited spots and then taking a picture. Placing the power to say whether or not a vehicle should be towed back into the hands of our enforcement agents in the PPA and PPD will eliminate this illegal and immoral action. As for the soda tax, I’ll use this space to answer some common questions.
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Where is the tax revenue going? I heard most of it actually isn’t going to pre-K, schools, parks, rec centers and libraries. The programs are just ramping up, so this year, 75 percent of the tax revenue is going towards pre-K, community schools and Rebuild (the investment in parks, rec centers and libraries). Once the programs reach full operations in two-and-a-half years, 97 percent of the tax revenue will go toward those three programs. The remaining 3 percent of revenue is spent on the Healthy Stores Tax Credit, which was passed in the spring to help small businesses negatively impacted by the tax, and to cover costs to collect the tax.
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;This country is based on inclusivity. Why, then, is (President) Trump not passing on to suffering people the same courtesy that his ancestors received when coming here?â&#x20AC;? Anthony D., West Philadelphia
How are you going to pay for the programs if everyone shops outside of the city? Similar threats were made about liquor after the drink tax went into effect and they proved empty. However, our revenue projections do account for a significant drop in consumption of these products â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kind of sad that stuff like this is going on. There are too many people suffering for us to ignore them. Policies need to change.â&#x20AC;? Dwayne Carson, North Philadelphia
within Philadelphia, yet even with a 27 percent drop in consumption, our revenue projections still cover the programs. How are small businesses going to survive if people do their grocery shopping outside of the city? Similar ominous predictions were made after the drink tax went into effect, but Philadelphiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bar and restaurant scene has only grown since that time. However, stores who do see a decline in sweetened drink sales and decide to shift to healthier products are eligible for the Healthy Store Tax Credit. This credit, offered against the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Income and Receipts Tax, is offered to qualifying merchants who increase their inventory of healthy beverages. The credit is calculated as the difference in merchant cost for healthy beverages compared to the prior year, up to $2,000. Why are juices and milk substitutes taxed? 100 percent juices are only subject to the tax if the phase â&#x20AC;&#x153;added sugarâ&#x20AC;? is on the label, or if they have an added sweetener, which you can tell my reading the nutrition label. Unsweetened milk substitutes are also not taxed. To find a list of non-taxable juice and milk substitute brands, go to phillybevtax.com Mayor Jim Kenney Comment at southphillyreview.com/opinion/ letters.
ES eSZQ][S g]c` ZSbbS`a s 2EGULAR MAIL 2 Executive Campus Suite 400 Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 s % MAIL editor@southphillyreview.com â&#x20AC;&#x153;This action continues the unfortunate Trump quality of acting without thinking about the repercussions with a kind of speed and recklessness thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unfortunate.â&#x20AC;? Scott Sheppard, 1500 block of Carpenter