A ride home in Philadelphia could soon cost more if Mayor Cherelle Parker’s latest budget takes effect.<\/p>\n
Parker pitched her $6.97 billion budget to City Council on Thursday, saying it includes new taxes on ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft that will help generate more than $9 million in revenue for the School District of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The tax would be 20 cents per ride.<\/p>\n
Another new tax in the budget would be a 25-cent-per-order tax on retail deliveries of certain items. Retailers would pay the tax, which would not be charged on deliveries of items deemed “essential,” like food, baby products, medications and medical devices.<\/p>\n
Parker also said she would seek state and local authorization to increase hotel taxes by 2%, a move that would generate $20 million to help pay for the city’s five-year plan to end street homelessness.<\/p>\n
Here are some other highlights of Parker’s budget:<\/p>\n
Adding Philly’s local sales tax to online purchases: Right now, online retailers only charge the 6% Pennsylvania sales tax on purchases. The proposed budget would require everyone selling to Philadelphia residents to charge the additional 2% city sales tax. This would generate an estimated $1.5 million in revenue, Parker said.Investment in a “pothole squad”: The budget includes $7.1 million to launch what Parker called the “One Philly Pothole Squad.” She says this will allow for more crews and equipment to respond to pothole problems faster. There will be dedicated teams in each of the city’s six highway districts to go out and fix the potholes.$25 million for SEPTA’s Zero Fare program: Parker intends to continue the city’s investment in the program that provides many Philadelphians with free SEPTA passes. Another $10 million will go toward Key Advantage, a program that covers city employees’ rides to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/p>\n
\n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n