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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mark Cohen |
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Cohen testifies before council on behalf of lower-income residents
HARRISBURG, Feb. 28 – State Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila., testified before Philadelphia City Council this week, urging them to reject a plan that would kill the lower-income tax cut his father, the late City Councilman David Cohen, put in place.
Cohen said the proposed tax cuts Council is discussing would cost the city more than if it continued the low-income tax cut. The current proposal would cut the wage tax from 4.219 percent to 3.8 percent in 2013 for residents and from 3.724 percent to 3.394 percent for non-residents.
“It is common for people with high income to ask for tax cuts,” Cohen said. “It is obvious that tax cuts for high-income people can produce significant benefits for them. The benefits of tax cuts for low-income people are less obvious but of even greater importance.”
Cohen described how the federal government and state governments, under both Republican and Democratic leadership, have supported and expanded similar programs for federal and state taxes, but no similar program existed in Philadelphia until his late father worked with Council to pass it in 2003.
Cohen spoke for low-income residents concerned about the impacts of higher taxes on their budgets and their families. He cited the example of how parents' ability to spend a few dollars more on their child’s school projects can have benefits far beyond simple dollars and cents, spurring education and lessening delinquency and crime.
“Low-income people in Philadelphia have more severe problems with credit than the average person does," Cohen said. "They are more likely to miss payments of even small amounts and thus be forced to pay late fees, penalties, surcharges and higher interest rates. The old saying that it costs a lot of money to be poor is accurate."
Cohen emphasized that reducing the taxes for these residents is also essential for dealing with rising costs for heating and housing and the current mortgage crisis. With the fair market value of a two-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia at $757 a month, based on a 2006 study, Cohen said it was essential to see that those with the most financial trouble have a greater chance at being able to keep their homes.
Cohen calculated the low-income tax cuts would represent a very small fraction of the $4 billion to $5 billion city budget when they would take effect. He concluded with the argument that, "there is a far better case for making the David Cohen tax cut effective immediately in 2008 than there is for abolishing it entirely in 2013.”
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