Pittsburgh needs steady revenue to keep essential city services running and to invest in its neighborhoods. Right now, the city taxes wages and business profits but leaves several kinds of income from wealth untaxed. This new Keystone Research Center report looks at a proposed Pittsburgh Fair Share Tax: a 2% tax on income from capital gains, dividends, rents, royalties, patents, copyrights, estates and trusts. Interest income is excluded. The proposal is expected to come before City Council, and the report shows how the city could raise money while making its income tax system fairer.
The report estimates that the Fair Share Tax would raise about $51 million a year. The highest-income 20% of residents would pay 92% of the new tax, and the top 1% alone would pay about 52%. Most residents would see no increase at all. Among the bottom 80% of earners, only 13% would pay more, and the average increase across that whole group would be $20 a year. The revenue estimates come from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and were validated by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
Keystone Research Center will discuss the findings during a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, October 27 at 9 AM, coinciding with the planned introduction of Fair Share Tax legislation by Pittsburgh City Councilmember Barb Warwick. Reporters are invited to hear the research findings and ask questions about the proposal.
Report PDF | Legal Memo
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