Pittsburgh budget crisis of 2015
From Usgs
The Pittsburgh budget crisis of 2015 was a financial crisis in the Pennsylvanian city of Pittsburgh where the city government was unable to raise enough revenue to pay for financial services. It was a prominent issue in the 2016 Pennsylvania Senate election.
The problem stemmed from Pittsburgh receiving a large proportion of its revenues from property tax(es). Approximately 40% of the property in Pittsburgh was exempt from this tax and higher property tax(es) had driven businesses to relocate outside of the city. However, it was also forced to pay for services for those who worked in the city but lived outside of the city.
The city of Pittsburgh argued that the model of raising revenue was outdated as it did not effectively match the sources of revenue with the sources of expenditure, and Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravestahl threatened to put the city into receivership under the Mid-Atlantic's Municipal Recovery Act, otherwise known as Act 47. This would have allowed the city to enact a commuter tax, which had the benefit of taxing those that used the city's services rather than just those who resided within the city.
The regional government opposed this move and the regional legislature in Harrisburg passed the Commuter Tax Ban Act to prevent Pittsburgh from enacting the controversial tax.
