The city has used wage taxes vs property taxes as a way of funding their government. Its not an elephant party thing, since they haven't been in charge in Philly for almost a century. So both parties are OK with regressive taxes, as long as they get their money. What is worse about the city wage tax is dividends and interest income are excluded. So you could be a billionaire, live in the city and pay $0 in wage taxes if you aren't collecting a salary. However, if you are a business owner you are taxed far more if than if your business was just outside the city. And if you are too poor to own a car, and need to buy necessities to live, those are going to cost more than your neighbors in Montco or Bucks, since you can't drive across county lines.