The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

February 19, 2009

Municipal officials are told to start planning for countywide tax-collection system

By Joe Pinchot

MERCER COUNTY — Following a lengthy presentation by a state official about upcoming changes in the collection of earned income tax, several Mercer County officials said they did not feel particularly enlightened.

�What he said tonight, I�m just as confused as ever,� Farrell Councilman Robert Burich said at Wednesday�s meeting of Mercer County Regional Council of Governments.

That wasn�t a knock on Michael Foreman�s presentation, but the complexity of what local officials must undertake to make the transition to a countywide collection district for earned income taxes.

�It seems a bit complicated,� said COG Executive Director Thomas R. Tulip, adding that the transition likely will be �painful.�

Foreman, who is senior policy analyst with the Governor�s Center for Local Government Services in the state Department of Community and Economic Development, did not disagree with the comments. They show the importance of one his main points � it�s better to start planning now and not wait for state-imposed deadlines to make decisions, he said.

Beginning in 2012, the current system of wage tax collection, where municipal receivers collect money from employers and send it to municipalities and schools, will be abolished in favor of a roughly countywide system where a single tax collector will be responsible for collecting and distributing wage taxes.

Under the state law passed last summer, most Mercer County municipalities and school districts that levy wage taxes have until Sept. 15 to name delegates to the Mercer Tax Collection Committee, which will oversee wage tax collection for most of Mercer County.

Jamestown and Greene and French Creek townships will be part of the Crawford Tax Collection District, and Wilmington Township will be part of the Lawrence Tax Collection District.

The committees will hold their first meetings Nov. 15. Foreman told officials not to wait until then to start talking about forming the committee, collecting wage tax and other issues that the committee will have to tackle.

�I would start this now,� he said.

Communities and schools could appoint delegates early � some already have � and they can informally talk about what they will need to do, Foreman said.

Although the law sets some things that all committees must do, there will be some flexibility, Foreman said. For instance, a committee could establish a new tax office, hire a private third-party that already collects wage taxes, set up an office within county government to collect the tax, or join with another county to set up a tax office.

�This is basically the baby you have to put in the carriage,� Foreman said. �This is like a form of home rule. You decide what�s best for you.�

Foreman suggested that elected officials might not be the best delegates, unless they are familiar with wage tax collection. The committee needs people who know the �nuts and bolts� of tax collection, he said.

Greenville Councilman Pete Longiotti suggested appointing the current receivers of taxes, even though many could be losing their jobs after the transition is made.

Delaware Township Supervisor Dan Micsky recommended that the committee try to retain all of the current receivers of taxes within whatever collection framework they set up because they know the towns they serve better than anyone.

Foreman will make a longer presentation March 19 at the Mercer County Township Officials� School. For information, call Mercer County Cooperative Extension, 724-662-3141.

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