Small biz feeling pinch as Philadelphia ups tax collection efforts [Links]

PhillyDeals: To help schools, city pressures small businesses on taxes [Philadelphia Inquirer]: “The school tax for S-corps has been on the books for years, but ‘the school district’s need for revenue has increased enforcement,’ Frank Paiva, chief counsel to the city Revenue Department, told me. For a long time the city found it tough to tell who was an S-corporation. But while Pennsylvania legislators have stalled city tax reforms and trimmed public school grants, state tax collectors have begun giving S-corp names to city auditors so they can boost collections.”

Philly tech hopefuls look for ‘angels’ at Brooklyn-based Northside Festival [Philadelphia Inquirer]: This story about the Northside Festival features Zivtech cofounder Alex Urevick-Acklesberg.

Why the Civic Hacking Community Needs Non-Coders [Generocity]: “‘There’s a huge marketing problem I think civic hacking groups have: We don’t do a good enough job involving people without coding experience. A successful project is so much more than code – it’s finding an audience, getting the design and user experience down, connecting with citizens, coming up with ideas,’ [Christopher] Nies said. ‘Code for Philly has actually seen some success with this, but overall I think it’s a real failing on our part that we aren’t letting people know: technical skills don’t matter. If you’re a concerned citizen, if you WANT to get involved, we need you.'”

Awareness Month Spurs Web Searches for Autism [Drexel press release]: “Autism Awareness Month each April brings blue lights and puzzle shapes out to shine in many communities – but does it actually lead to increased autism awareness? According to a new analysis of web search trends by researchers at Drexel University, it does appear to drive an increase in Google searches for autism – by a third over searches in March in recent years.”

New archive tracks political ads, money on Philly TV [Philadelphia Inquirer]: “Why Philadelphia? Roger McDonald, the Internet Archive’s director for television, says, ‘It’s the fourth-largest TV market in the country. And the market area, which includes southern New Jersey, is a truly diverse community, with varieties of local issues and players seeking a voice.'” Find our coverage of the project here.

Here’s what Vox Media’s Product team built during their Hack Week in Philadelphia [Vox Product blog]: Here’s why Vox chose Philadelphia for their Hack Week.