On the campaign trail: State Sen. Anthony Williams held a fundraiser at Tio Pepe restaurant last week. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTO
State Sen. Anthony Williams last week held a fundraiser at Tio Pepe restaurant, at 6618 Castor Ave.
Williams, a Democrat, is up for re-election this year. He is expected to win handily, perhaps with no opposition.
Next year, he is expected to run for mayor. Williams said he has made friends across the city as he eyes a mayoral run.
“If that continues, I will make a decision sometime later in the year,” he said.
Among those attending his fundraiser were City Councilwomen Maria Quinones Sanchez and Blondell Reynolds Brown; state Rep. Mark Cohen and his opponent, Jared Solomon; former mayoral candidate Marty Weinberg and representatives from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and SEPTA.
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The Republican City Committee is faulting Democrats after a USA Today study showed that Philadelphia ranks second for the highest tax burden.
The analysis looked at income, property, automobile and sales taxes.
“As a city government, we need to enact policies that support upward income mobility. Unfortunately, Mayor Nutter and the Democrat-controlled City Council keep raising taxes on the most vulnerable the working and middle class who could use the extra money rather than paying burdensome taxes,” said Joe DeFelice, executive director of the Republican City Committee.
DeFelice added that higher tax rates deter economic growth and force business to think twice about relocating to Philadelphia and creating much-needed jobs.
“It should be Mayor Nutter’s top priority to work with City Council with the goal of reducing taxes on all Philadelphians, especially the working poor,” he said. “A great first step will be rolling back the ‘temporary’ property tax hikes proposed by Mayor Nutter and Democrats on City Council, which were due to expire in 2012 but to the detriment of working families are still with us, as well as following the lead of Republican City Councilman David Oh, who recently put forth a plan to reduce the wage and net profits tax over a period of 10 years by $100 million, thus resulting in a shift in the wage tax from 3.92 percent in 2014 to 2.09 percent in 2025.” ••
On the campaign trail: State Sen. Anthony Williams held a fundraiser at Tio Pepe restaurant last week. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTO
