Senate Bill 20, which passed through the Senate with a vote of 48-0, gives Lake County new distribution options for a county option income tax. The options include:
1) Returning income tax money to property owners in the city or town in which the taxes are raised.
2) Distributing 60 percent of the money to property owners in the city or town in which the taxes are raised and the remaining 40 percent by population.
3) Applying the proceeds from the income tax to county government levies in order for all property owners to benefit equally.
Out of 92 counties, Lake County is the only county that does not have a county income tax. In 2007, the state legislature passed a state law freezing most local government budgets in Lake County unless a county option income tax was passed and designated for property tax relief. Local governments will take a $17 million hit this year with the freeze.
In December, the county council would not take action to override the county commissioners' veto of the income tax. However, Senate Bill 20 now breathes new life into the county option income tax, and the tax will most likely be resurrected at a February or March county council meeting.
No more taxes! Enough is enough! Making me pay an income tax to give myself property tax relief is ludicrous! I'm putting $5 back in my left pocket only to take $5 out of my right one. Cut wasteful spending (and there's enough to be cut), eliminate all the patronage and learn to live on a budget like most of us do. It's not that hard to figure out unless you're an elected official!