Outside Erie

It’s encouraging to see Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio exploring the idea of a four-day workweek for county employees.
I’m not completely sold on the idea yet.
But it’s a refreshing development to see an Erie elected official thinking creatively.
I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts on this approach. Have you seen this happen in […]

Folks in Erie often complain about the high state and local tax rates.
But here I offer a glass-is-half-full assessment — Erieites, on average, pay less in federal taxes than those in higher wage communities.
A new study by David Y. Albouy, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, finds that workers in high-wage cities […]

Jim Russell, the author of the very relevant blog Burgh Diaspora, brought up some great points in a recent comment about Pennsylvania’s tax structure.
Russell argues that taxes, while important, are not keeping businesses from growing in Pennsylvania. The key, he says, is finding a competitive advantage and building on that advantage.
For articulating this against-the-grain point, […]

The Manufacturers’ Association of Northwest Pennsylvania issued an opinion piece today that I’d like to share.
It speaks directly to many of the topics we discuss in this space regularly.
And because of the size and influence of the association, I think it’s worth reproducing here.
Here it is:
There is no question that the tourism and service industries […]

Like most of you, I’m hoping for a Christmas that will create warm memories for my children and will be filled with good times with family and friends.
I know that my children are all quite excited for the big day — and they’re eager to unwrap gifts filled with Hannah Montana CDs, Transformers figures, and […]

Why is there so much attention getting paid to efforts to fix the federal Alternative Minimum Tax?
Check out these numbers from the TaxProf Blog.
The number of Pennsylvania taxpayers who got snared by the AMT in 2005 was 137,486.
If the law isn’t fixed in 2007, that number would balloon to 837,000.
That would amount to a lot […]

Is city government moving fast enough to improve its financial situation?
According to the group of business leaders who are working with City Hall to help keep the city solvent, the answer to that question pretty clear.
“The culture of City Hall is way behind the times,” writes Norman Stark in a recent report by an advisory […]

VisitErie has sent along the hotel-motel tax receipt figures through the end of October — and the numbers show that it’s been a good summer and fall for Erie County hoteliers.
Figures for the first four months of the 2007-2008 fiscal year (which begins July 1) are up nearly 10 percent.
The 5 percent tax on hotel […]

As Erie County prepares to hike up property taxes AND dip into the gaming money to help balance its budget — and the city’s budget woes continue to lurk — it’s becoming more clear that reform is needed.
Face it, folks, Erie isn’t growing very much. But the appetite for feeding local government budgets is getting […]

There are many out there who will argue that government should not give tax incentives to some at the expense of others.
If the city, for instance, is going to waive property taxes for some landowners, it unfairly punishes the rest.
This argument is sound. But, in some cases, you simply have to give away something for […]