A proposal by fourth district city councilman Jason Arp to eliminate Allen County’s business personal property tax failed by a 6-3 vote Tuesday night.
The tax is applied to new equipment for local businesses, and the revenue is streamlined to local services like schools, police and libraries. For businesses, this can result in savings around $55 million, but services will lose a reliable funding source.
“That number has been a bit exaggerated, because the repeal would roll the tax back and as a result the burden in the first year would only be about $2, $3 million,” said Dr. John Crawford, at-large councilman.
Despite this, he voted against it, citing a concern he shared during the proposal’s failure in City Council two years ago: there’s no alternative source of revenue for agencies that stand to lose money.
Other dissenting council members noted the state’s role, saying it’s just better policy for legislators to repeal the tax statewide instead of potentially placing smaller Allen County towns at risk of losing necessary funding.
With the defeat, it remains uncertain if the measure will be revived in the future.
