City Council To Investigate Whether Suburban Real Estate Brokers Are Skirting Taxes For City Properties
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia City Council plans to look at whether some suburban real estate brokers are avoiding pay city taxes when they handle a property sale within the city limits.
A recent audit by the city controller found that millions of dollars in real estate transactions within the city had commissions going to brokers in Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware Counties, but the brokers, according to the Controller, never paying city businesses taxes on those Commissions.
Neilson says that isn't fair to brokers who do pay.
"What the Controller found was that the realtors that are doing business outside the city, selling homes inside the city, unfortunately aren't paying the same taxes," he says. "So therefore it puts those living in the city on an unfair playing field."
So Neilson has introduced a measure that would require reporting to the city all broker commissions at the time of closing.
"The bill will make, when you're going to the settlement table, and you're buying a house in the city, whoever that real estate broker is will have to put their information and their business privilege license right on that paper, or the transaction can't happen." says Neilson. "I'm trying to put the Philadelphia realtors on the same playing field as the suburban realtors."
Neilson's measure is to be debated in committee later this spring.
