Aug. 2, 2010
WV Municipal League Discouraged New Taxes for Pilot Home Rule Cities
Stated Feasibility Study Required
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - When cities were still vying for acceptance in the WV pilot Home Rule program, the WV Municipal League and a WVU constitutional attorney discouraged enacting new taxes due to the short five year sunset and an apparent feasibility study requirement.
Last week, MU President Dr. Stephen Kopp, who previous worked for Ohio University in Athens County , Ohio which has a tax similar to the occupation one, opposed Huntington’s proposed tax reforms. He appeared to allude to the lacking feasibility study when stating that some type of study needed to be conducted before enactment of the tax.
MUNICIPAL LEAGUE DISCOURAGED IMPLEMENTING NEW TAXES
The 2008 story published in the Wheeling Intelligencer, quoted Lisa Dooley, executive director of the West Virginia Municipal League stating that the pilot home rule program contained safeguards.
One of the safeguards, according to Dooley, cities would be required to submit feasibility studies to the [home rule] board BEFORE adopting any NEW taxes. New taxes would require APPROVAL of the board.
(Editor’s Note: Members of the Wolfe Administration and City Council have obtained advance guidance that the Home Rule board would act quickly on the city’s Tax Reform plan, which is a deviation from that which has already been approved.)
“The beauty of home rule is that it gives power to the citizens; not the cities,” noting the people have the ability to vote their elected officials out of office if dissatisfied with their decisions.
Dooley in 2008 advised cities applying to the pilot program to be conservative in ANY efforts to implement new taxes because the program stops after five years.
PROGRAM TERMINATES JULY 1, 2013
“In 2012, the Joint Committee on Government and Finance will examine what the cities have done — and how well they have done it. They will then make recommendations to the Legislature to either expand the program or stop it,” Dooley said in the Wheeling paper.
According to SB 747, “the pilot program terminates on the first day of July, 2013,” she stated. “Any ordinances the cities enact under the home rule pilot program stop at that point, so it will be up the the board and the Legislature to determine what will happen,” Dooley said.
DON’T TAX, BUT IT COULD BE A FIVE YEAR CASH COW
Headlined, “Possible Cash Cow from Home Rule,” the Intelligencer article also quoted WV University law professor , Robert Bastress. The attorney authored in 1995, “The West Virginia State Constitution: A Reference Guide.”
Bastress explained that new taxes or new laws could not contradict the U.S. or West Virginia Constitution or violate WV Code dealing with the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, crime, punishments and criminal procedures.
Otherwise, the law professor said a city could gain authority to impose personal and corporate income taxes, sales taxes, production taxes, consumption taxes, property transfer taxes, property registration taxes, and a tax for driving on city streets. ( He apparently relies on the authority of the legislature and the home rule board in allowance of these taxes.)
The newspaper put it more succinctly: “A city income tax. A city sales tax. A production tax. A consumption tax. Property registration taxes. Limited video lottery machine taxes. A tax for driving on city streets.”
Professor Bastress said cities would NOT be able to assess property taxes in any way, as they are set by the state Constitution; alter federal or state environmental regulations; legalize controlled substances such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin or LSD; alter the state’s court system; or create defined contribution employee pension plans for employees currently covered by defined benefit plans.
ANNEXATION
No other city asked for the occupation and sales tax authority. However, Weirton did address one of the hindrances to city growth --- annexation. In the Weirton presentation, the city asked to be able to annex property without the approval of either Hancock or Brooke County administrators.
Click here to view the article: http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/502903.html?showlayout=0
FEASIBILITY STUDY
During a short period of on line research HNN did not find such a study for Huntington, WV; however, as an example, we did find one for Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The articles to which we provide links contain a bit of the debate on the tax, along with a PDF of the study. The second article appears to conclude that Ann Arbor will wait until later to consider the proposal.
Ann Arbor Feasibility Study PDF:
http://annarborchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/chroniclemisc/CityIncomeTaxStudy1-17text.pdf
Ann Arbor Article on Tax
http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/08/15/city-income-tax-maybe-later
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WV Municipal League Discouraged New Taxes for Pilot Home Rule Cities
Stated Feasibility Study Required
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - When cities were still vying for acceptance in the WV pilot Home Rule program, the WV Municipal League and a WVU constitutional attorney discouraged enacting new taxes due to the short five year sunset and an apparent feasibility study requirement.
Last week, MU President Dr. Stephen Kopp, who previous worked for Ohio University in Athens County , Ohio which has a tax similar to the occupation one, opposed Huntington’s proposed tax reforms. He appeared to allude to the lacking feasibility study when stating that some type of study needed to be conducted before enactment of the tax.
MUNICIPAL LEAGUE DISCOURAGED IMPLEMENTING NEW TAXES
The 2008 story published in the Wheeling Intelligencer, quoted Lisa Dooley, executive director of the West Virginia Municipal League stating that the pilot home rule program contained safeguards.
One of the safeguards, according to Dooley, cities would be required to submit feasibility studies to the [home rule] board BEFORE adopting any NEW taxes. New taxes would require APPROVAL of the board.
(Editor’s Note: Members of the Wolfe Administration and City Council have obtained advance guidance that the Home Rule board would act quickly on the city’s Tax Reform plan, which is a deviation from that which has already been approved.)
“The beauty of home rule is that it gives power to the citizens; not the cities,” noting the people have the ability to vote their elected officials out of office if dissatisfied with their decisions.
Dooley in 2008 advised cities applying to the pilot program to be conservative in ANY efforts to implement new taxes because the program stops after five years.
PROGRAM TERMINATES JULY 1, 2013
“In 2012, the Joint Committee on Government and Finance will examine what the cities have done — and how well they have done it. They will then make recommendations to the Legislature to either expand the program or stop it,” Dooley said in the Wheeling paper.
According to SB 747, “the pilot program terminates on the first day of July, 2013,” she stated. “Any ordinances the cities enact under the home rule pilot program stop at that point, so it will be up the the board and the Legislature to determine what will happen,” Dooley said.
DON’T TAX, BUT IT COULD BE A FIVE YEAR CASH COW
Headlined, “Possible Cash Cow from Home Rule,” the Intelligencer article also quoted WV University law professor , Robert Bastress. The attorney authored in 1995, “The West Virginia State Constitution: A Reference Guide.”
Bastress explained that new taxes or new laws could not contradict the U.S. or West Virginia Constitution or violate WV Code dealing with the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, crime, punishments and criminal procedures.
Otherwise, the law professor said a city could gain authority to impose personal and corporate income taxes, sales taxes, production taxes, consumption taxes, property transfer taxes, property registration taxes, and a tax for driving on city streets. ( He apparently relies on the authority of the legislature and the home rule board in allowance of these taxes.)
The newspaper put it more succinctly: “A city income tax. A city sales tax. A production tax. A consumption tax. Property registration taxes. Limited video lottery machine taxes. A tax for driving on city streets.”
Professor Bastress said cities would NOT be able to assess property taxes in any way, as they are set by the state Constitution; alter federal or state environmental regulations; legalize controlled substances such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin or LSD; alter the state’s court system; or create defined contribution employee pension plans for employees currently covered by defined benefit plans.
ANNEXATION
No other city asked for the occupation and sales tax authority. However, Weirton did address one of the hindrances to city growth --- annexation. In the Weirton presentation, the city asked to be able to annex property without the approval of either Hancock or Brooke County administrators.
Click here to view the article: http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/502903.html?showlayout=0
FEASIBILITY STUDY
During a short period of on line research HNN did not find such a study for Huntington, WV; however, as an example, we did find one for Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The articles to which we provide links contain a bit of the debate on the tax, along with a PDF of the study. The second article appears to conclude that Ann Arbor will wait until later to consider the proposal.
Ann Arbor Feasibility Study PDF:
http://annarborchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/chroniclemisc/CityIncomeTaxStudy1-17text.pdf
Ann Arbor Article on Tax
http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/08/15/city-income-tax-maybe-later
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