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 by
How members voted
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.
“…June 11, 2026: Bill No. 260199, Bill No. 260200, Bill No. 260201, Bill No. 260203, Bill No. 260204, Bill No. 260205 and Bill No. 5 260206. I'm pleased to advise you that on June 12, 2026, I signed the following bills which were passed by Council at its session on June 4, 2026: Bill No. 250644, Bill No. 250645, Bill No. 260385, Bill No. 260386, Bill No. 260391, Bill No. 260392, Bill No. 260393, Bill No. 260394, Bill N…”
The Clerk · Stated Meeting, September 17, 2026 · Sep 17, 2026 · official transcript, this passage
“…gement Code," to modify the amounts of license and permit fees, under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 260205, an ordinance amending Section 19-1806 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Authorization of Realty Use and Occupancy Tax," to clarify the imposition of tax on the use or occupancy of real estate with respect to cell towers; all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 260206, an ordinance amending C…”
Chief Clerk · Stated Meeting, June 4, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026 · official transcript, this passage
Status timeline
- Mar 12, 2026Introduced and Referred · CITY COUNCIL
This Bill was Introduced and Referred.to the Committee of the Whole
- Mar 24, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Mar 24, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Mar 24, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Mar 25, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Mar 25, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Mar 25, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Mar 31, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Mar 31, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 1, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 1, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 7, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 7, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 7, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 8, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Apr 8, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 8, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 14, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 14, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 15, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 15, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 20, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Apr 20, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 20, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 21, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Apr 21, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 21, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 22, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Apr 22, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 22, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 28, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Apr 28, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 28, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Apr 29, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Apr 29, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- May 4, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- May 4, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- May 4, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- May 6, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- May 6, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Jun 3, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Jun 3, 2026RECESSED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was RECESSED.
- Jun 4, 2026HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING NOTICES SENT.
- Jun 4, 2026HEARING HELD · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was HEARING HELD.
- Jun 4, 2026REPORTED FAVORABLY, RULE SUSPENSION REQUESTED · Committee of the Whole
This Bill was REPORTED FAVORABLY, RULE SUSPENSION REQUESTED.
- Jun 4, 2026SUSPEND THE RULES OF THE COUNCIL · CITY COUNCIL
This Bill was SUSPEND THE RULES OF THE COUNCIL.
- Jun 4, 2026ORDERED PLACED ON THIS DAY`S FIRST READING CALENDAR · CITY COUNCIL
This Bill was ORDERED PLACED ON THIS DAY`S FIRST READING CALENDAR.
- Jun 4, 2026READ AND ORDERED PLACED ON NEXT WEEK'S SECOND READING CALENDAR · CITY COUNCIL
This Bill was READ AND ORDERED PLACED ON NEXT WEEK'S SECOND READING CALENDAR.
- Jun 11, 2026READ AND PASSED · CITY COUNCIL
Recorded result: Pass
A motion was made that this Bill be READ AND PASSED. The motion carried by the following vote:
- Jun 11, 2026SIGNED · MAYOR
This Bill was SIGNED.
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