Should Ohio Take over Income Tax Collection? Strongsville Says No

Strongsville has joined in opposing a plan by the state to take over municipal income tax collections.

City Council voted 7-0 Monday on a resolution objecting to the plan.

"It's a premature action," Mayor Tom Perciak said.

Cities have a variety of tax rates and credits, he said, making it incredibly complex to set up a central collection agency that coordinates them all.

So far, Gov. John Kasich’s plan is just an idea — it hasn’t officially been proposed. Part of the idea is that small businesses with operations in different cities would only have to file taxes once with the state.

“We’re still in the investigating stage,” Tax Commissioner Joseph Testa told the Columbus Dispatch. “But this administration wants to move Ohio in a tax-friendly, business-friendly direction, and we feel this fits into that general theme.”

But the resolution passed by council says income tax is by far a city's biggest source of revenue and "any disruption or interference" in the collection would be harmful and cities "cannot afford another potential loss in revenue."

It also challenges the administrative difficulties, including how tax records would be retained and accessed; the timing and frequency of distributing collections to cities; and how planned staffing cuts might affect the Ohio Department of Taxation's ability to handle the task.