Special Guest Column by Amy Murray
Cincinnati’s proposed budget has generated a great deal of heat, particularly the proposal to privatize street parking meters – which from experience in other cities will mean higher costs and aggressive ticketing enforcement by a private company seeking maximum revenue. This move will make downtown and neighborhood business districts less desirable and drive away customers and visitors.
Cincinnati’s proposed budget has generated a great deal of heat, particularly the proposal to privatize street parking meters – which from experience in other cities will mean higher costs and aggressive ticketing enforcement by a private company seeking maximum revenue. This move will make downtown and neighborhood business districts less desirable and drive away customers and visitors.
What seems to have been lost in the shuffle is the proposal
to eliminate the municipal income tax reciprocity credit. This credit allows Cincinnati residents
to work outside the city without being hit by double municipal taxation.
For
example, my neighbor across the street works in Blue Ash. Currently, she pays 2.1% in municipal
income taxes: 1.5% to Blue Ash, and .6% to Cincinnati. Under the Proposed Budget, my neighbor
will pay 3.6% in municipal taxes: 1.5% to Blue Ash and
2.1% to Cincinnati. That’s an
increase of 71%! It’s even worse for my neighbor who works in Norwood. She will be paying 4.1% in municipal
income taxes! That’s a 95% tax
increase! This tax increase is expected to generate $6.5 Million from 15,000
Cincinnatians. That’s over $430
per person in 2013. Do you know
anyone with an extra $430 in their pocket? I sure don’t.
Of
course, this new tax arrangement won’t work in reverse. Live in Blue Ash and work in
Cincinnati? You currently pay a
maximum of 2.1% municipal income tax rate. If Cincinnati ends its reciprocity agreement, you’ll still
pay a maximum 2.1% tax. The City
Manager’s budget plan only works to punish Cincinnati residents who find work
outside the city limits. I guess they want to stop encouraging people to live
in the City.
Does anyone believe that increasing
taxes won’t harm efforts to attract and retain businesses in Cincinnati and
surrounding communities? Increasing
taxes will only lead to a greater exodus of working families from Cincinnati. Simply
put, eliminating the municipal income tax reciprocity credit is not the
solution to Cincinnati’s budget woes – it will only make it worse through the
loss of residents who work outside the city taking their tax dollars with them.
But there is more. This budget is
being balanced on the back of the residents and businesses of Cincinnati
including all these cost increases to work and/or live in the city
- Increasing rates for all city parking meters and garages
- Raising property taxes to the maximum level allowed by law
- Eliminate reciprocity between jurisdictions on the earning tax
- Eliminating trash collection for all commercial properties
I encourage you to write to your City Council members and
remind them that it is a tough economic time for everyone and the City should
limit their spending and balance the budget without causing a greater burden to
the families and businesses in the city!
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
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Chris.Seelbach@cincinnati-oh.gov
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Yvette.Simpson@cincinnati-oh.gov
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laure.quinlivan@cincinnati-oh.gov
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wendell.young@cincinnati-oh.gov
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cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov
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PG.Sittenfeld@cincinnati-oh.gov
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Christopher.Smitherman@cincinnati-oh.gov
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charlie.winburn@cincinnati-oh.gov
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citycouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov
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Actually this encourages people to work outside city limits. A person who lives in Cincinnati and works outside the city pays .6% and a person that lives and works in Cincinnati pays 2.1%. That person who pays .6% can vote and complain about their "high" taxes can complain just as much as the person who pays 2.1%. I pay more than the person for their kids to go to public schools and receive trash pick-up. Try living in San Fran or NYC... way higher taxes than you talk about.
ReplyDeleteRobert, you are incorrect. Cincinnati charges a 2.1% earnings tax to anyone who lives and/or works in the city. They give residents credit for taxes paid to other local jurisdictions, but this is a matter of policy, not law.
ReplyDeleteA person who lives and works in Cincinnati does indeed pay 2.1%. A person who lives in Cincinnati and works in a nearby city pays the other city 0.6%, and then pays Cincinnati 1.5% (2.1-0.6). See here for verification: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/finance/income-taxes/
Cincinnati has about 290,000 residents, but collects the 2.1% from around 380,000 people. You'd think with all that 'taxation without representation' they'd have enough. But no, their thirst for boondoggles exceeds their over-brimming trough.