Business tax hike under consideration by Key West officials
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
Owning a Key West business might cost owners five percent more this year if city commissioners agree to increase the business licensing tax.
City Manager Jim Scholl broached the idea at the April 7 city commission meeting of increasing the tax that all local business owners pay each year for a license to operate. Under state statute, Key West is allowed to increase the licensing fee every two years in the odd calendar years.
“This happens to be one of those years we can raise it up to five percent. We have not done it since 2009 in the city,” he told commissioners.
There was a muted response by commissioners to Scholl’s proposition, which would require them to approve a new ordinance. Several of the commissioners own businesses in Key West that would be directly affected by any fee increase. Commissioner Mark Rossi, who owns an entertainment complex on Duval Street, said he would not vote to approve any ordinance until Scholl produced a detailed analysis of how much the various business license fees would increase. Currently, there are dozens of different license fees depending on the size and type of local business.
“I’d like to see a comparison of [what] businesses are paying today and with the increase in it before I comment on it. As a businessman, it’s directly going to hit me in my pocket so I’d like to know what the tax is,” he said.
Scholl said he would include the various fee increases in a draft ordinance. In the current fiscal year, business license fees generate approximately $1.3 million, according to Assistant City Manager Sarah Hannah-Spurlock. A five percent boost would generate another $60,000 annually, she said.
Scholl said he likes to give business owners a “heads up” in June about any pending fee increases, with budget planning beginning in September.
“I need some direction if that is something you want us to consider in the upcoming budget year. If we don’t do it this year, we would have to wait two years until we have another opportunity,” Scholl told commissioners.
City Attorney Shawn Smith did not comment at the April 7 meeting whether it would be a conflict of interest for commissioners owning local businesses to vote yea or nay on a higher licensing tax. In addition to Rossi, Commissioner Teri Johnston is co-owner of a local construction company and Commissioner Jimmy Weekley’s family owns two Fausto’s Food Palace grocery stores in Key West.
[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]
instead of the City Commission, it should be correctly renamed the ‘spending and gouging’ commission. Wasting all that money on an unnecessary new City Hall, when the old one could have been economically renovated. And, coming up with ever more creative ways to pick our pockets to pay for their spendthrift ways; just gives you the warm fuzzies all over, doesn’t it?