Monthly Economic Report: City Revenue Collections Reach Four-Year High


Date: March 30, 2011
Categories
  • Finance & Policy
Controller: Alan Butkovitz

Executive Summary


For Immediate Release:
March 30, 2011

Contact: Brian Dries
215-686-8869

City Revenue Collections Reach Four-Year High
Last Month’s tax revenues totaled $428 million & marked
the highest monthly collection since May 2007

Click here to view economic report

PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released his monthly economic report and found that February’s City and PICA tax collections totaled $428 million, marking an almost four-year high for a single month’s revenue collections.

The last time monthly revenue collections reached this amount was May 2007 with a total of $452 million. In the current reporting month, February’s total collection of $428 million was a seven percent increase over the same month last year.

February’s $22.8 million in sales tax collections contributed to the overall increased revenues as it was the second largest collection for fiscal year 2011, and a two percent increase from the same month last year.

Along with a review of the City’s revenue collections, this month’s economic report features a breakdown of average tax refund payments for Philadelphia and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties. Using the latest tax refund data available by zip code, a breakdown of average refund payments for the 2007 tax year included the following:

Chester – $2,763
Montgomery – $2,680
Delaware – $2,658
Bucks – $2,576
Philadelphia – $2,503

A total of $1.3 billion in refunds was returned to Philadelphia by the Internal Revenue Services in 2007. This amounted to 13% of the $10.5 billion in refunds returned to Pennsylvania that same tax year.

The Controller’s economic report is compiled on a monthly basis and includes an Economic Snapshot and Forecast, as well as real estate information and other local statistics. These reports are circulated every month to assist key decision makers in understanding and anticipating local and national economic trends. Both of these documents are a useful tool for policy makers and analysts in understanding our regional and local economy.

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