With public misperception swirling when Murrysville Council considered raising its share of the earned income tax this spring, council members opted to wait for more precise figures.
“I believe we can wait a few months, the budget process will begin, and then we can say, ‘This is the exact percentage,’” council President Dayne Dice said in April. “We can then pass this enabling legislation, and then the tax increase, at the same time.”
That time is drawing closer, and a tax hike is possible.
At its meeting Wednesday night, council voted unanimously to advertise new ordinances hiking both the earned income and real estate transfer taxes.
The earned income ordinance would amend the tax code and bump Murrysville’s percentage of the earned income tax from 0.5% to 0.7%.
Council’s spring announcement that it would explore a hike to as much as 1% brought criticism from residents. Some thought it also meant the Franklin Regional School District’s share would increase.
Currently, the 1% tax levied on earned income is split between the municipality and school district. But what the municipality collects has no effect on the school district’s share. In fact, if the district did want to bump its levy, it would have to do so through a voter referendum, per state law.
The second ordinance would raise the real estate transfer tax from 0.5% to 1%. It would apply only to property sales, and has nothing to do with property tax millage, Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said.
The municipality has not raised taxes since 2007. Beginning in 2012, revenue from earned income tax began to exceed the collection of real estate taxes, according to Morrison.
Both ordinances will be considered by council at its Nov. 3 meeting. If they are enacted, they will take effect for the 2022 tax year.
