MOUNT VERNON — Some nonresidents who work in the city object to paying income tax, as they have no representation in the city administration or on city council.
Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis said this is an issue for just about every city, adding that the counter-argument, generally, is that nonresidents use city services and make use of streets.
Debbie Tyson, administrator of the Mount Vernon Income Tax Office, said during her tenure with the city, she has heard different people complain that non-residents are taxed without representation.
City residents get the chance to vote for a candidate for city council to represent their ward. They also get to vote for such elected positions as mayor, as well as for at-large council representatives. At-large council members do not represent one particular ward.
Nonresidents, however, cannot vote for any elected positions within city government. But nonresidents who work in the city have to pay income tax, and some consider this to be taxation without representation.
“I understand what they are saying, but at the same time,” Tyson said, “while they are working they are absolutely covered by police and fire.”
The city income tax dates back to an ordinance passed in 1966, which allows for the levying of taxes on salaries, wages and other compensations by residents, nonresidents of the city for work done or services performed or rendered in the city, and on the net profits of all businesses conducted by residents of the city or all business conducted in the city by nonresidents. The purpose of levying the tax, according to the ordinance, is to fund general municipal operations, maintenance, new equipment and capital improvements.
The city income tax rate was raised from 1 percent to 1.5 percent in 1983. Mavis said police and firefighters hit the streets to campaign for the increase that year. A sizeable chunk of the city’s budget goes to fund both departments, he said.
About three years ago, City Council eliminated a tax exemption for city residents who work outside the city. Tyson said individuals who work in Columbus but live in Mount Vernon, for instance, effectively pay a 2.5 percent income tax. The city gives such individuals a half percent tax credit, and the income tax rate in Columbus is 2 percent.
Previously, such residents were completely exempt from Mount Vernon’s income tax.
Mavis said there were those who came to council to protest the elimination of the exemption. Around the same time, he added, there was a proposal to increase the income tax rate, but that proposal didn’t go far.
In other city tax news, Tyson said the tax office will be open the Saturday before the April 15 deadline. The office will be open extended hours on Monday, April 14, and Tuesday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“We did the same thing last year and people seemed to like it,” she said.
Tyson said the tax office plans to give taxpayers the opportunity to file and pay their taxes online, if they so choose. Those without Internet access or those who prefer to work with a hard copy will still have forms mailed to them.
Tax forms were mailed the week of Jan. 21. They are also available at the tax office, the public library in Mount Vernon, and at the city’s Web site, www.mountvernonohio.org.
