Findlay hit with $3M tax refund request

FINDLAY — Findlay Council has been asked by the city Income Tax Department to transfer nearly $2.9 million in tax revenue into a fund that will allow for payment of a $3 million tax refund. Legislation seeking the transfer of the money was introduced to city council during its regular meeting on Tuesday. In a letter to council, dated Nov. 7, Mary Price, income tax administrator, said the city received the refund request on Oct. 21 and there is not enough money in the refund account to pay it. In the past, Price said the tax administrator could waive estimated payments and return them, if they seemed too high. However, after years of debate, spurred on by city Auditor Jim Staschiak who opposed the waivers, the city Income Tax Board voted to end the policy in August 2019. The vote was 4-1, with Councilman Grant Russel, R-at-large, opposed. Russel held a seat on the board as chairman of council's Appropriations Committee. Other board members included Mayor Christina Muryn, Staschiak, Treasurer Susan Hite and Law Director Don Rasmussen. The practice also drew the ire of some city council members who argued that waiving the estimated tax payments for some, while penalizing others for late estimated payments was unfair. State audits of the city, dating to 2013, also commented on the lack of policy. Prior to the decision, Findlay had been allowing skipped estimated payments since 2009 at the discretion of the tax administrator. In 2019, there were 52 businesses and two individuals permitted to skip the estimated payments without penalty. Altogether, the skipped payments total an estimated $2.2 million a year. "The Income Tax Department is compliant with this motion and has not waived any estimated tax payments since this was passed, however, this process has caused some larger refund requests as a result," Price said.