ELIZABETHTOWN — Essex County is still hoping for a higher sales tax.
The County Board of Supervisors has so far been unsuccessful in getting the State Legislature to act on a request for an extra one-quarter percent.
But Essex County lawmakers may get to add up to a full 1 percent extra instead, if currently pending bills pass and are signed by Gov. Andy Cuomo.
So the county is throwing its support behind those bills, which would allow any county to set its own sales tax, up to 4 3/4 percent.
Essex County is now at 3 3/4 percent, while the state collects a 4 percent sales tax statewide.
County Attorney Daniel Manning III said the bills pending in the Assembly and Senate would allow counties to have a combined state and local sales tax up to 8 3/4 percent.
“It would be an increase of a percentage point over what we have. That bill allows for any counties and cities across the state to pass a resolution to get the (tax).”
UNANIMOUS VOTE
At a recent meeting, Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava (R-Moriah) said they should endorse the statewide sales-tax increase authorization, instead of specific Home Rule legislation just for Essex County.
“I talked to Senator (Betty) Little, and she does support it (the one-quarter percent bill), but she did tell me that she did not think it would ever make it out of the Senate. I think we have a much better shot doing this with everybody, (rather) than trying to go out there alone.”
The problem is that the Legislature will soon take its summer recess, Supervisor Daniel Connell (D-Westport) said.
“If we could get a bunch of counties together to support this, we might have a chance with this, but probably not this term. Our intent is to ask the State Legislature to move those bills through that will allow counties to determine what their sales tax would be.”
The 18-member board voted unanimously to support the bills allowing New York state counties to establish sales-tax rates.
Essex County has been trying unsuccessfully for the last two years to increase its sales tax by one-quarter percent, as the Legislature has not passed any of the Home Rule bills required to allow that to happen. Most surrounding counties took the option to increase their sales tax by 1 percent several years ago, but Essex County chose only 3/4 percent before the option expired.
Email Lohr McKinstry:
lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
Source: pressrepublican.com
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