Published: March 25, 2009 08:00 pm      

Young: New businesses needed to heal tax woes

Occupational tax declining because of sagging economy; new revenue may be sought

County government may step up efforts to locate new businesses in the area not on the occupational tax roles in an effort to bring in much-needed revenue.

County Treasurer Arlene Young voiced her concern about the declining occupational tax — a major source of revenue for the county — during Tuesday’s Pulaski County Fiscal Court meeting.

“I think we really need to work on getting out and looking for new businesses,” Young said during the meeting.

The county occupational tax, enacted around 20 years ago, pulls about 1 percent in gross wages and 1 percent in net profit from employers in the county and funds a broad assortment of county services.

Entities such as 9-1-1, emergency medical services, the Industrial Development Foundation and the Pulaski County Detention Center are largely funded by the occupational tax.

Some of the county road fund also receives monies from the occupational tax, along with the five cities – Somerset, Ferguson, Burnside, Science Hill and Eubank – that are inside Pulaski County.

“In my opinion, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Young said during the meeting. “I think we’re going to see the occupational tax go down even more.”



For more information, read Thursday's Commonwealth Journal.