State Income Tax Control

Today's Journal....

Local officials warn against state taking over income tax collections

A centralized local income tax collection by the state would cause cities and villages to lose out on money and be an inconvenience to taxpayers, municipal finance officials say.

About 100 Ohio city and village councils, including some from Butler County, have passed resolutions asking the state of Ohio not to go to a centralized income tax collection

City finance officials with Butler County’s three largest municipalities — Hamilton, Middletown and Fairfield — all say they don’t trust the accuracy of the state to administer a statewide collection of municipal income tax, and the local municipalities “can do it better

Middletown Finance Director Russ Carolus said cities and villages are the best watchdogs of local money.

“We know we can control our money. People like to control their own destinies,” he said. “How do you judge if they’re doing an adequate job? How do you know if they are doing a good job or a bad job? I can measure that with my own people.”

[LOL "WE KNOW WE CAN CONTROL OUR MONEY"? "PEOPLE LIKE TO CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY"? HOW CAN YOU JUDGE AN ADEQUATE, GOOD OR BAD JOB? GOOD ONES RUSTY! TO SUM IT UP FOR YOU......YOU CAN'T CONTROL THE MONEY-NEVER HAVE. THE CITY DOES NOT ALLOW THE PEOPLE TO HAVE A SAYSO IN THEIR TOWN SO NO CONTROL OF THE DESTINY AND WE, ON THIS SITE HAVE CLARIFIED FOR YOU, BY PRESENTING NUMEROUS FACTS, THAT YOU HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB IN THE FINANCIAL AREA OF THE CITY BECAUSE YOU MOVE MONEY AROUND FROM ONE FUND TO ANOTHER USING STEALTH TECHNIQUES.

Middletown City Manager Judy Gilleland said while a regional approach “is not a bad idea,” a centralized local income tax collection could weaken a city’s autonomy

MORE GILLELAND HAS THE AUDACITY TO MENTION WEAKENING A CITY'S AUTONOMY? POT/KETTLE JUDITH. I THINK SHE MEANT TO SAY IF THE MONEY GOES TO THE STATE, AND DOESN'T STAY IN THE CITY, THE CITY LEADERS CAN'T CONTROL IT AND MOVE IT AROUND TO THEIR FAVORITE HIDDEN PLACES AS EASILY.

First of all, where is this article in the Journal? Is it only in the print edition? Didn't see it so can't really comment on the specifics. I do wonder how this is supposed to work. All the local tax money goes to the state and then they send it back? Sounds like a recipe for administrative cronyism from the state; if they don't like what a city is doing they simply refuse to release their local taxes?!!! I think local money should stay local; why do we need another layer of bueracracy? (sp)  I do agree that governmental accounting practices need to be streamlined so we stop playing "hide the sausage" with taxpayer funds but the state doesn't need to be involved.

I'd be interested in the take on how it saves money. How? Show me the facts and I'll be happy to support it!!!

acclaro,

So if I'm reading your post correctly, this really isn't about anything other than uniform collection of local income tax. Is that right?

Well, another follow-up story in the Journal on this.....

Middletown considers joining tax uniformity cause

MIDDLETOWN — The city is considering joining other municipalities to make local income tax regulations more business-friendly.

Nine Miami Valley-area municipalities have adopted a resolution supporting a document — authored by several Dayton-area city managers — that shows how nearly 600 cities and villages can have similar local income tax regulations.

Middletown could be the 10th municipality to support the initiative if City Council adopts the proposed resolution Tuesday night.

The goal of the document is to get the state legislature to introduce and pass a bill to require the state’s nearly 600 cities and villages to have nearly identical income tax regulations, such as due dates, extensions, withholding, rental property, statute of limitations, and penalty and interest. It would not alter a city’s income tax rate.

“What we’re trying to do is to mold the discussion at the state level to something that’s not going to hurt us,” said Middletown Finance Director Russ Carolus. ( OR UPSET THE MYSTERIOUS CITY METHOD OF HANDLING THE MONEY)

“It’s an idea that we want to bring forth to help guide the state to make sure that when they start talking about the rules that they are going to be changing that they try to make it as revenue-neutral to the city of Middletown as possible.” (OR TRY TO BUFFER THE STATE FROM KNOWING WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE)

HERE'S A GOOD ONE FROM CAROLUS AND OTHER FINANCE PEOPLE.....

The finance directors in Butler County’s three largest cities — Hamilton, Middletown and Fairfield — said in January the state couldn’t be as accurate nor as efficient in collecting local taxes, and there is a lack of trust with state government after so many cuts were made in the name of balancing the state’s biennial budget.

I LIKE THE STATEMENT "THE STATE COULDN'T BE AS ACCURATE NOR AS EFFICIENT IN COLLECTING LOCAL TAXES AND THERE IS A LACK OF TRUST WITH STATE GOVERNMENT......"



GOT NEWS FOR YOU RUSS BABES. THERE'S A "LACK OF TRUST" IN YOU FOLKS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT HERE ALSO WITH YOUR SECRETIVE FUNDS AND YOUR MONEY MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES. IS THE DESIRE TO NOT HAVE STATE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION AN EFFICIENCY/TRUST THING AS CAROLUS STATES OR IS IT THAT MIDDLETOWN CITY GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WANT THE STATE TO INTERFERE WITH HOW RUSS MANAGES THE MYSTERY MONEY TILLS AFTER THE TAXES ARE COLLECTED? WE ALL KNOW HE'S A GURU AT VOODOO FUND MONEY MOVEMENT.