OC Tax collections up
Occupational Tax receipts for the month of March were slightly above average, and with a tax increase set to take hold in April it appears total collections for the year will exceed budget expectations.
According to the McCreary County Occupational Tax Office a total of $74,218.10 in receipts were collected last month, bringing the nine-month total to $827,070, about $44,000 ahead of collections from the same period last fiscal year.
Over the past four years April has brought in an average of about $65,000 for the month, making 2017 about $9,000 above average.
With an average collection rate of $91,896 per month for the current year, the total collections for the 2016-17 fiscal year could surpass $1,100,000.
That projected total does not take in to account the additional half percent to be collected on salaries and profits over the last quarter as the new Occupational Tax Ordinance took effect on April 1.
The increased tax rate could bring in an additional $150,000 in revenue to the general fund – about half of the estimated budget shortfall projected by Judge Executive Doug Stephens.
From April 1 through June 30 last year about $303,000 was collected in Occupational Tax receipts. With the new 1.5 percent tax rate, that total could increase to about $450,000, if monthly averages hold true.
That amount would push total OC Tax collections for the fiscal year to about $1.27 million, about $270,000 more than anticipated in the budget when it was created last year.
