As of the end of 2019, the City of Pittsburgh has missed out on more than $14 million in tax revenue that could be making Pittsburgh more scenic. 

Back in November 27, 2012, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a 10%  levy on revenue generated by billboards within city limits. The billboard companies have kept it tied up in litigation ever since, paying not a penny of what they owe on profits they make by using OUR roads and communities. We, the taxpayers, subsidize billboard profits every day. What do we get in return? Unpaid taxes - plus billboards that lower our property values and erode our city's scenic appeal.

Tell city council and Mayor Peduto that you support their efforts to bring the billboard companies to the table so they can pay their fair share of their taxes, just like WE must do as citizens.

The stakes for collecting this tax and funding the CleanPGH Resolution are high. Although we are no longer the “smoky city” of the past, Pittsburgh's growing reputation as a sustainable city is being eroded by litter, hundreds of illegal dumpsites, visual blight, vacant lots, and decaying abandoned structures. In addition, we lack a comprehensive plan to deal responsibly with recycling, trash, and other waste and are unable to maintain the thousands of vacant lots and abandoned buildings that dot our landscapes.

The CleanPGH Resolution is backed by Scenic Pittsburgh, Allegheny CleanWays, and the Pennsylvania Resources Council and would use the revenue from the billboard tax to address all of these issues, setting our city on the path to environmental leadership and the goal of becoming the cleanest city in the U.S.

It is clear that over time the CleanPGH Resolution will cost millions of dollars to implement. If Pittsburgh is to remain committed to a green and sustainable future, we must confront our litter, abandoned property and waste and recycling issues. The CleanPGH Resolution can be adequately funded by simply collecting the taxes owed by the billboard companies. This solution will have zero impact on the existing budget and will not cost city taxpayers a cent.

The idea of using tax revenue derived from billboard blight to solve our most pressing environmental problems will become a model for the nation.

Learn more about the Resolution at https://www.scenicpittsburgh.org/cleanpgh-resolution.html 

Learn more about why Pittsburgh's billboard companies need to pay their fair share: https://www.scenicpittsburgh.org/billboard-companies-fair-share.html