Question

why might raising taxes be a risk for struggling cities

Answer 1

rising taxes would increase the price of living. seeing little to none job opportunities people would move out of the cities increasing the strain on taxpayers and government.

Answer 2

Raising taxes on a poor city that is in debt to another country is a great risk for the country in debt. The poor might lose their land to the government if they can not pay their taxes. This is extremely bad if the population is over 50% of people that can not pay their taxes. This will make the country lose even more money and go into an economic crisis.