The State Capitol, Albany NY.
ALBANY – Chautauqua County lawmakers may find out if the state legislature will approve their request for a sales tax increase within the next couple weeks.
A request to increase the county sales tax by .5 percent is currently being considered in committee in both the assembly and senate, with both expected to consider the request either next week or in early June. If the request is approved in each committee, it will then go before the full assembly and senate for a vote. The legislative session will end on June 17.
In March the Chautauqua County Legislature voted 14 to 4 on a resolution requesting the state give permission for the county to raise the total sales tax from 7.5 to 8 percent. According to county executive Vince Horrigan, the increase is the best way to provide property tax relief for residents while also closing a looming $5.7 million shortfall in the 2016 county budget. He said if the sales tax increase were approved, it’s projected to provide an additional $7.8 million in additional revenue in 2016.
Senator Cathy Young has said that the senate would only consider the request if the county can provide relief in some other way. That should be doable. Horrigan has said if the sales tax were to go up by .5 a percent, the county would then be able to cut the property tax by at least 3 percent, providing much needed relief to property owners.
The current sales tax in Chautauqua County does include a clothing tax exemption of up to $100, as well as a home energy exemption. Horrigan says that if the increase were granted, both exemptions would still remain in effect
The county sales tax has remained at 7.5 percent since 2005. Of the 17 counties in Western New York, only Chautauqua and Ontario counties have a sales tax that is below 8 percent.
Leave a Reply