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Salem taxpayers face filing oddity
SALEM
Salem residents who work in other communities may have an interesting time filing their city income-tax returns for 2010.
For years, the city has collected a 1-percent income tax.
The city did not require Salem residents who paid a 1-percent income tax in another town to pay the tax in Salem.
Last year, however, council decided to repeal the tax credit for residents who work in other communities.
But city voters overturned the issue last November, which restored the credit.
As a result, Salem residents who work out of town will not have to pay a city income tax from Jan. 1 through July 15 and Nov. 28 through Dec. 31, the period when the extra tax was in effect.
No income credit will be granted from July 16 through Nov. 27, the collection period before the issue was defeated.
Fred Pamer, the city’s income-tax administrator, said a percentage calculation, “should apply for most taxpayers.”
In the short period the tax credit was repealed, the city collected an additional $75,000, Pamer estimated.
About 1,200 Salem residents may be affected by the on- and off-again income tax.
Taxpayers can use one of two methods to see if they must pay.
A taxpayer working in another community can identify the amount he has to pay under the 1-percent tax. To calculate the allowable tax credit for 2010, people can identify the tax paid to another city and multiply it by 0.63, Pamer said.
A city taxpayer who worked out of the city at different times during 2010 may want to use an alternate calculation method designed for people whose income was not earned evenly over the year. People with questions should contact Pamer at 330-332-4241.
The city is not sending out tax forms this year but it is sending information on how to get forms. Taxpayers soon should be able to download them from the city’s website www.cityofsalemohio.org.ohio.