Canfield to challenge state-collected income tax

CANFIELD

City council will join a coalition in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of House Bill 49, and moved forward on the decision to enter a joint police dispatch service among several county communities.

Council on Wednesday passed an ordinance to have the city join a “coalition of municipalities” that plan to take a lawsuit to federal court to address municipal income taxes authority, specifically on a change that could allow residents to opt into having the state collect income taxes, rather than the city. House Bill 49, if passed, could take away a municipality’s authority to control income tax collection, and income tax has played a vital role in Canfield’s budget, officials stressed.

“We have generally opposed the state taking away the authority of the city to collect taxes,” Councilman Chuck Tieche said.

If the city did not back the lawsuit, or if the lawsuit fails, it might not be able to collect income tax in 2018.

Read more about the matter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com,.