City Of Philadelphia Revenue's 2020 Annual Report In Six Figures

Philadelphia PA

30 December, 2020

5:29 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Philadelphia : Lana Adams; Department of Revenue December 29, 2020 The Philadelphia Department of Revenue has published its 2020 Annual Report. The report covers the period between July 2019 and June 2020, which includes the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in our city. The first eight months of FY20 –July 2019 to March 2020– were marked by strong revenue collections and a reduction in overall delinquency. The numbers were consistent with positive trends over the past decade. But from April through June, as businesses shuttered and workers stayed home, we saw a sudden drop in revenue. We've picked just six figures from the report that provide insight into Revenue's work before and after the pandemic, as well as our plans to overcome recent setbacks. We saw this small increase even as we adopted swift relief efforts for those impacted by the COVID-19 health emergency. We extended the payment deadline, paused enforcement and ramped up our efforts to promote homeowner assistance programs. $171 million – Working with City Council and other partners, Revenue expanded tax assistance programs for Philly's most vulnerable families. Tax relief grew by about $21 million compared to Fiscal Year 2019. -23% – Liquor Tax collections, which go directly to the School District of Philadelphia, saw a 23% decline in FY20 compared to the previous year. Most of Liquor Tax revenue comes from restaurants, bars and breweries, businesses severely affected by COVID-related restrictions and closures. Liquor Tax collections account for less than 7% of overall collections for the School District. $800,000 The successful launch of the City's new paperless water billing platform, and better-than-expected adoption rate, means $800,000 in annual savings to the City. MyPhillyWaterBill allows customers to view and pay their bills online, research past billing history, and schedule automatic payments. Allowing the option to pay online helps Revenue to "go green" and reduce the amount of paper and postage we use. > 30 years – Revenue accomplished a lot in 12 months, but progress is often limited by a tax system of record that is more than 30 years old. FY20 was also marked by the second phase of a process to build a new integrated tax system. With the first phase of a progressive rollout scheduled for 2021, it will provide new information-management tools and self-service customer features that the Department needs to continue fulfilling its mission. Check out our full FY 2020 Annual Report. This press release was produced by the City of Philadelphia.The views expressed here are the author's own.