{"id":5725,"date":"2020-09-28T19:58:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T19:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scenic.org\/?p=5725"},"modified":"2023-04-13T14:40:36","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T14:40:36","slug":"whats-the-deal-with-the-billboard-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scenic.org\/2020\/09\/28\/whats-the-deal-with-the-billboard-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s the Deal with the Billboard Tax?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the midst of a budget shortfall, Pittsburgh is missing out on collecting tens of millions in tax revenue<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Back on November 27, 2012, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a 10% levy on revenue generated by billboards within city limits.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Billboard Companies’ Fair Share<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The tax was supposed to net the city between $1.5 \u2013 3 million a year \u2013 and it\u2019s estimated that the city would have collected more than $12-20 million as of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite passing City Council easily, the tax has never been collected. The billboard companies have kept the tax tied up in court for the last 8 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the <\/em>Post-Gazette article about the failure to collect the Billboard Tax.<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Scenic Pittsburgh was one of the biggest advocates for the billboard tax and we\u2019ve been fighting to see it collected since it was passed. We believe that some of these funds should be dedicated to trash and dump cleanup, maintenance and stabilization of abandoned property, greenspace development, and increasing our recycling capacity, and we\u2019ve created a proposal specifically for that purpose.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We feel strongly that this legislation is a model that could be followed by every county in our 10-county region, and something that could supply needed revenue for programs that preserve and promote scenic resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sign our petition supporting the collection of Pittsburgh\u2019s billboard tax and the use of revenue to make Pittsburgh the cleanest city in the U.S.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Why should billboard companies pay this tax?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The billboard business isn\u2019t like your locally-owned store \u2013 it\u2019s not even like most nationally owned chains. It\u2019s a business that makes its profit from everything you pay taxes to support, while contributing next to nothing in return.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n