Philadelphia will create a one percent "construction impact tax" to help fund affordable housing projects around the city.
The Philadelphia City Council this week commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act by announcing a long awaited and heavily debated package of affordable housing bills.
According to Jake Blumgart, the "ambitious" set of bills includes a new "construction impact tax" and a "raft of new inclusionary zoning bonuses." The package is also notable for what it does not include: mandatory inclusionary zoning.
"The bill would also segment the Housing Trust Fund into two separate “sub-funds,” one for the current revenue stream from a fee assessed on deeds and mortgages and one for the proceeds from the proposed construction tax," according to Blumgart.
Much of Blumgart's analysis of the new affordable housing policy proposal in Philadelphia focuses on the proposed construction impact tax, which would implement a one percent tax "levied on the estimated cost of construction and will be due at the time the building permit is issued."
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