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Without the efforts of the earned income and mercantile and business privilege taxes the city would have been at a net loss for revenue this year, the City of Williamsport's treasurer said.
Mayor Derek Slaughter introduced the budget in November by describing the stronger returns of earned income or wages, as well as business privilege and mercantile taxes.
The EIT office had a 12% increase and the MBT tax had a 23.6% increase allowing the city to see a 2.7% increase in tax revenue, city Treasurer Kevin Mackey said.
If the city did not have that revenue come in, it would have been a shortfall of about $100,000 this year.
The trend last year was higher than any since 2020. In 2020, wage tax brought in $2.3 million while last year that number was $2.7 million. Business privilege and mercantile tax generated $2.4 million in 2020 while last year that number rose to $3.2 million, and local services taxes increased from $786,136 in 2020 to slightly over $1 million last year, the budget indicates on the city website.
Economic investment and helping upstarts in the city's business arena were encouraged.
"I just want to remind you that we should be investing our futures with economic programs and trying to encourage more businesses to come in," Mackey said. He added, "because those are the guys that are really going to help us out and ensure that we have both property taxes coming in and business taxes."
His analysis was acknowledged and welcomed news by council leadership and the finance committee chair.
"Here here," declared Council President Adam Yoder.
"Exactly," said Councilwoman Liz Miele, who also previously cautioned council while the budget discussion was going on that the one- time cash infusion from the American Rescue Plan, when removed, showed that the city was operating in a deficit.