The state passed a new law in the last General Assembly that doubles the sales tax vendor license fees to $50 and requires county auditors to send half the proceeds to the state to support the Organized Crime Commission. County Auditor Nancy Nix asked the commissioners to authorize a special pass-through fund for the money.
“That’s a pretty new scam, that’s a cool one, that’s about the damndest thing I’ve seen lately, pretty slick. We raise the taxes on our residents and then we send it to the state,” Dixon said, and later added the vendors may be paying the fee but the residents will likely pay in their purchases.
”No, hell no... I’m not required to raise taxes if I don’t want to."
Last year state lawmakers authorized establishing the Organized Retail Theft Task Force within the Organized Crime Commission to be funded by the additional fee. The new fee took effect last month and is expected to generate roughly $750,747 annually, according to the Legislative Budget Office.
The county keeps $25 and sends the other half to Columbus.
Commissioner Cindy Carpenter agreed they should take a stand, “if we say no, let’s just play it out and see what happens, they can collect the money but they can do it without our support.”
The three commissioners declined to create the fund.
Nix acknowledged the commissioners’ concerns but said she is obligated to follow state law.
“The state mandated this,” she said. “So we’re consulting with the county Prosecutor’s Office on how to proceed in order to comply with state law and meet the accounting requirements regarding the additional fee.”
County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser told the Journal-News Dixon can’t stop the new fee but he is entitled to take a stand against it.
“He opposes it, he’s not going to cooperate with the citizens of Butler County getting stuck with paying any additional money,” Gmoser said. “Even though he can stop it, he’s not going to make it easy for the legislature to come in and take money from Butler County citizens. He’s not going to make it easy, even though it creates a little more work for the auditor, he’s sending a message.”
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