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BillENACTED

Bill 260205

Amending Section 19-1806 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax,” to clarify the imposition of the tax on the use or occupancy of real estate with respect to cell towers; all under certain terms and conditions.

Introduced Mar 12, 2026Committee of the WholeOfficial record: City of Philadelphia via Legistar

Introduced by

Council President JohnsonCouncilmember Gilmore Richardson

How members voted

  1. Vote on Jun 11, 2026 · CITY COUNCIL

    Aye (17)

    Councilmember BassCouncilmember BrooksCouncilmember DriscollCouncilmember GauthierCouncilmember Gilmore RichardsonCouncilmember HarrityCouncilmember JonesCouncilmember LozadaCouncilmember O'NeillCouncilmember PhillipsCouncilmember SquillaCouncilmember ThomasCouncilmember AhmadCouncilmember LandauCouncilmember O'RourkeCouncilmember YoungCouncil President Johnson

From the floor

Passages in the official transcripts that cite this file number. Every quote links to its exact place in the record.

  1. “To the Committee of the Whole, to which were referred the following bills: Bill No. 260199 as amended, an ordinance adopting the Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2027. Bill No. 260200, as amended, an ordinance to adopt the Fiscal Year 2027 Capital Budget. Bill No. 260201, as amended, an ordinance to adopt the Capital Program for the six Fiscal Years 2027 through 2032 inclusive. Bill No. 260203, as amended, an ordinan…”

    Chief Clerk · Stated Meeting, June 4, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026 · official transcript, this passage

Status timeline

  1. Mar 12, 2026Introduced and Referred · CITY COUNCIL
  2. Mar 24, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  3. Mar 24, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  4. Mar 24, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  5. Mar 25, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  6. Mar 25, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  7. Mar 25, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  8. Mar 31, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  9. Mar 31, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  10. Apr 1, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  11. Apr 1, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  12. Apr 7, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  13. Apr 7, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  14. Apr 7, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  15. Apr 8, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  16. Apr 8, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  17. Apr 8, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  18. Apr 14, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  19. Apr 14, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  20. Apr 15, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  21. Apr 15, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  22. Apr 20, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  23. Apr 20, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  24. Apr 20, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  25. Apr 21, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  26. Apr 21, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  27. Apr 21, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  28. Apr 22, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  29. Apr 22, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  30. Apr 22, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  31. Apr 28, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  32. Apr 28, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  33. Apr 28, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  34. Apr 29, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  35. Apr 29, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  36. May 4, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  37. May 4, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  38. May 4, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  39. May 6, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  40. May 6, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  41. Jun 3, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  42. Jun 3, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
  43. Jun 4, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
  44. Jun 4, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
  45. Jun 4, 2026REPORTED FAVORABLY, RULE SUSPENSION REQUESTED · Committee of the Whole
  46. Jun 4, 2026SUSPEND THE RULES OF THE COUNCIL · CITY COUNCIL
  47. Jun 4, 2026ORDERED PLACED ON THIS DAY`S FIRST READING CALENDAR · CITY COUNCIL
  48. Jun 4, 2026READ AND ORDERED PLACED ON NEXT WEEK'S SECOND READING CALENDAR · CITY COUNCIL
  49. Jun 11, 2026READ AND PASSED · CITY COUNCIL
  50. Jun 11, 2026SIGNED · MAYOR

Official documents

Documents open on the City of Philadelphia’s legislative site.

Full text

Read the full text as published

..Title Amending Section 19-1806 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax," to clarify the imposition of the tax on the use or occupancy of real estate with respect to cell towers; all under certain terms and conditions. ..Body THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION 1. Chapter 19-1800 of The Philadelphia Code is hereby amended to read as follows: TITLE 19. FINANCE, TAXES AND COLLECTIONS. * * * CHAPTER 19-1800. SCHOOL TAX AUTHORIZATION. * * * � 19-1806. Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax. (1) Definitions. In this Section the following definitions shall apply: * * * (h) Cell Tower. Any transmitting device, whether free-standing or affixed to another structure, having one or more antennae and transmitting and receiving signals for a cellular telephone network. * * * (4) Rate and Computation of Tax. * * * (c) Computation for Tax Years beginning on or after July 1, 2013. The tax to be paid by the user or occupier, for the tax year beginning July 1, 2013, and for all tax years thereafter, shall be computed as follows: (.1) First, calculate the [following product:] value of the real estate subject to use and occupancy tax: (.a) For all business use and occupancy other than cell towers, the value of the real estate subject to use and occupancy tax equals the following product: Square feet occupied or used Total sq. ft. available for use or occupancy on the real estate x Assessed value (.b) For cell tower business use, the value of the real estate subject to use and occupancy tax equals the total assessed value of the individual cell tower itself, as most recently returned by the Office of Property Assessment prior to the start of the tax year. (.c) Where a property features both square footage that is available for business use and occupancy in addition to a cell tower, the value of the real estate subject to use and occupancy tax for each such use shall be calculated separately and the values combined. (i) For the purposes of this calculation only, 100 sq. ft. shall be used to represent each individual cell tower. The value of the square footage subject to use and occupancy tax equals the following product: Square feet occupied or used (less 100 sq. ft. per cell tower) Total sq. ft. available for use or occupancy of the real estate (less 100 sq. ft. per cell tower) x (Assessed value - Assessed Value of any Cell Tower) (ii) For the purpose of this calculation, the value of any cell tower business use shall be calculated as provided in (.b) above. * * * SECTION 2: Effective Date. This bill shall be effective January 1, 2027. ___________________________________ Explanation: [Brackets] indicate matter deleted. Italics indicate matter added. ..End