NOTE, 5:52 p.m.: This post has been updated
It sounds like a compromise is brewing on the business privilege tax debate that's been raging for weeks.
Sources tell PhillyClout that tomorrow's hearing on business tax legislation put forth by Council members Bill Green and Maria Quinones-Sanchez is expected to be postponed as the members work on a compromise deal with the Nutter administration.
Nutter's Chief of Staff Clay Armbrister today sent a letter to the Councilmembers, pledging to work together on compromise legislation that would help provide tax relief to small businesses and Philly based firms -- two of the Councilmembers key concerns. To read a PDF of the letter, click here.
The administration this afternoon said they were planning a press conference on the issue for tomorrow. But later in the evening it was no longer clear if the event was still on.
Green and Quinones-Sanchez have proposed legislation that would shift the business-tax burden from the net-income tax, which taxes profits, to the gross-receipts tax, which taxes sales. They have argued that the legislation - which would exempt a business' first $100,000 in sales - would benefit Philadelphia-based companies and small businesses.
The Nutter administration has raised serious concerns about the proposal, arguing that it would raise taxes on many of the city's largest firms and could damage the job-creating hotel and construction industries. The Committee of Seventy today called on the Council members to hold the legislation for further review.
It did not appear that the members had the votes to get the legislation out of committee.