On June 30, the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette posted a story about the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area’s (MSA) unemployment rate. The account focused on the fact that Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate of 4.0 percent in May was lower than the state and country and was seemingly implicating that the Pittsburgh MSA is doing well compared to other MSAs around the country with similar, or higher, unemployment rates.
The Allegheny County acting controller (controller) presented the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) on June 1, summarizing results from 2025. A 36 percent property tax increase from 4.73 mills to 6.43 mills went into effect, the first since 2012. The controller’s news release stated the increase offers “only a brief respite from considerable fiscal concerns.”
Allegheny County’s comprehensive financial report for 2025, as prepared by the county controller, is a sobering document that should provide local policy makers with plenty to think about, says a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
A Pennsylvania legislative proposal to tax digital advertising to fund additional school property tax relief for seniors is not only fraught with legal peril but would harm businesses and stands to raise prices for consumers, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
