"He does not understand the five-year plan," Street told a news conference yesterday, "and the commitment we have made to reducing taxes in this city."
The Rendell/Street tax-cut plan envisions reductions of about $108 million over four years in the wage tax, and another $53 million in business tax cuts. The Katz plan, which compared wage-tax cuts only, estimated the Street tax cuts at only $20 million over four years.
In a discussion of his methodology yesterday, Katz agreed he might have to take a second look at his numbers on the Street plan, but he noted that the estimate of the cost of his steeper tax cuts was nearly the same as figures offered yesterday at the Street news conference. Those figures come from city budget director Rob Dubow.
It appears the Katz plan to reduce the wage tax to 4 percent will cost around $250 million over four years. In addition, Katz has endorsed the Rendell/Street business tax cuts, which will cost another $53 million over the period.
"I stand behind my tax plan, and I believe it is achievable," Katz said yesterday. "I'm still waiting for John Street to come out with a plan for stopping the population and job loss in Philadelphia."
Street was joined at his news conference yesterday by Mayor Rendell's former chief of staff, David L. Cohen, and state Rep. Dwight Evans, who lost to Street in the Democratic primary.
Cohen called Katz's plan "an embarrassment" and a mind-dump of consultant's jargon "without any specific ideas to save money."
He also noted that the five-year plan, which Street has taken as his budget blueprint, includes fiscal holes, adding up to as much as $500 million over five years.
Katz's plan calls for a sweeping reform of the city management and budget systems, but doesn't attempt to calculate the value of those changes.
Katz also proposed to equalize the tax rates paid by suburbanites and city-dwellers, and Evans said yesterday such a course would anger Republican lawmakers in the suburbs. Send e-mail to daviesd@phillynews.com

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