The Impact of Not Collecting Sales and Use Taxes from Internet Sales into Pennsylvania

Nationally, internet commerce amounts to trillions of dollars of sales per year, and business and consumer purchases from internet retailers are increasing rapidly. However, Pennsylvania has a limited ability to compel remote vendors without a physical presence in Pennsylvania to collect and remit sales and use taxes for internet transactions, 1 and for 2012, it is estimated that such uncollected revenues range from $254 to$410 million for Pennsylvania. In addition to this uncollected revenue and its obvious impact on the Commonwealth’s finances, the non-collection of sales taxes by some internet retailers shifts sales away from tax-collecting retailers, which importantly includes in-state brick-and-mortar stores. The lower sales for brick-and-mortar stores in turn reduces the economic impact of these stores on the rest of Pennsylvania. If all internet retailers were required to collect sales tax, placing them on equal footing with taxcollecting retailers, it would increase tax receipts to Pennsylvania, and increase sales at brickand-mortar stores</p

State Taxation of Internet Activities: What Role for the Federal Government?

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A Sales Ratio Study of the City of Philadelphia’s 2013 Certified and 2014 Proposed Real Estate Assessments

<p>This report responds to an invitation by the Controller of the City of Philadelphia, effective April 11, 2013, to perform a timely and independent review of the pending reassessment of real property in the City of Philadelphia. The recent mailing of proposed 2014 assessed values, and the pending legislative decision to be effected by ordinance by Philadelphia City Council and the Mayor to certify the proposed 2014 assessed values for tax year 2014 makes such an independent review of broad interest. This report focuses on the relationship between the old and proposed assessed values and recently observed sales prices. Such comparisons inform on the accuracy and fairness of the results of the reassessment process. An examination of the plausibility and accuracy of the underlying data publicly available and used by the Office of Property Assessments of the City of Philadelphia to perform the reassessments, and a spatial analysis of aspects of old and new assessed values provide insights into how the results of the reassessments should be viewed. By correlating measures of the assessment level and quality of assessments with median earnings and ethnicity by 5 digit zip code, further insights about the fairness of reassessment results can be ascertained.</p

A Primer on Changing Information Technology and the Fisc

From the electric light to the automobile, history is filled with examples of new technologies that quickly change the way people live, conduct commerce, and run their governments. The modern computer will soon see its sixtieth birthday, and the telephone is even older. Why should such information technology still be driving fundamental change in our social institutions, including our methods of funding government? Certainly, automobile technology reached a mature steady state long before then, as did its ability to transform society

Testing 1,2,3: An Analysis of 4Sight in Pennsylvania

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of a battery of formative assessments, 4Sight, which are broadly aligned with annual assessments required by NCLB. These formative assessments are designed to provide teachers with feedback on student performance throughout the year in order to raise end of year student test scores. Methodologies for evaluating the effect of using 4Sight on test score outcomes are drawn from the program evaluation literature, and include individual and school-level OLS as well as matching at the school-level. Micro-econometric results show that 4Sight had no discernible effect on math scores and a small negative effect on reading scores in its first year in Pennsylvania. Policy recommendations include continuing a smaller-scale trial period of 4Sight for several more years in conjunction with careful, improved alignment between 4Sight and PSSA, ongoing empirical analysis of its effects, and incorporating more opportunity for feedback to teachers and students to improve 4Sight as a formative assessment

Predicting the Frequency and Depreciation in Real Estate Assessment Quality in Pennsylvania: 1988-2008

<p>In the United States, the real estate tax continues to be the most important own-source local tax revenue. As a consequence, there is a vast practitioner literature about how a local real estate tax can be administered most fairly and inexpensively. The International Association of Assessing Officers has promulgated manuals, training, standards of practice, and statutory language that define and enable best assessment practice . Until 1982, the Governments Division of the US Census Bureau measured and reported the quality of residential property assessment by metropolitan area and state4 . Beyond these two important research enterprises, other public finance researchers have explored a wide variety of questions about the valuation mechanism that underlies application of local real estate taxation.</p

The Final Report and Recommendations of the Pennsylvania Local Tax Reform Commission

This Final Report of the Pennsylvania Local Tax Reform Commission contains a series of recommendations for the fundamental reform of local taxing authority of Pennsylvania's school districts, municipalities, and county governments. The Report responds to Governor Casey's charge that the Commission find ways to meaningfully reform the Commonwealth's local tax structure

Final Report of the Pennsylvania Tax Commission

This report represents the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Tax Commission which was created by Governor Thornburgh on October 18, 1979. The charge to the Commission was to review the entire structure of state and local taxes in the Commonwealth and make a comprehensive assessment of the tax system. This in turn led to recommendations to improve the equity and economic neutrality of the system. This was to be and has been done within a framework of overall taxation which would keep the burden of state and local taxes, expressed as a percentage of personal income in the state, at the same level as current law. In addition, the Report contains recommendations and analysis which relate to a number of specific areas with the Governor asked the Commission to investigate: the administration of the local property tax and its use to finance public education, the impact of taxation on economic development and job creation, and the impact of taxation on local communities and on the state's transportation and energy problems