Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Changing the $52 Tax, One More Time
The General Assembly is once again at work trying to change the collection scheme for the Emergency Services Tax—the $52 tax that is levied on employees in the municipality in which they work. Because the $52 bite can be taken all at once at the beginning of the year, hitting many low-income earners especially hard, Senate Bill 218 would change the collection to a $1 per week deduction to be sent to the municipality by the employer quarterly.
A bill similar to this passed the legislature last session, but it was ultimately vetoed by the Governor because he felt that municipalities would not have enough time to adjust to the new collection method and were counting on the money. Too bad such sentiments were never extended to the taxpayers, especially in Pittsburgh, where the City is deducting the money from everyone’s paycheck, then forcing those making under the exemption level of $12,000 to prove they are entitle to a refund.
In the vetoed bill Pittsburgh would have been allowed to keep collecting the tax the way they were until 2010, basically saying a little bit of beating up on low wage earners is not too bad if the City is on hard times. But that same exemption was not given to any other municipality in financial distress.
Presumably the new bill will eliminate the Pittsburgh exemption.
A bill similar to this passed the legislature last session, but it was ultimately vetoed by the Governor because he felt that municipalities would not have enough time to adjust to the new collection method and were counting on the money. Too bad such sentiments were never extended to the taxpayers, especially in Pittsburgh, where the City is deducting the money from everyone’s paycheck, then forcing those making under the exemption level of $12,000 to prove they are entitle to a refund.
In the vetoed bill Pittsburgh would have been allowed to keep collecting the tax the way they were until 2010, basically saying a little bit of beating up on low wage earners is not too bad if the City is on hard times. But that same exemption was not given to any other municipality in financial distress.
Presumably the new bill will eliminate the Pittsburgh exemption.
