Jamestown County Legislator Fred Larson discusses sales tax at Legislative Voting Session (February 26, 2025)
A resolution to continue the additional 1% sales tax in Chautauqua County has been referred back to committee.
The current sales tax in Chautauqua County is 8%, with the county required to make a request to New York State every two years for any additional percentage above 7%.
Chautauqua County Legislator Fred Larson made the motion at Wednesday night’s legislative voting session to send the resolution back to the Audit & Control Committee so that mayors and supervisors could have the opportunity to give their input on how the additional 1% is divided up between County Government and local municipalities. The motion also recommended discussion on the current division of the funds of that 1% sales tax, which currently has 85% going to the County and 15% to municipalities.
Larson said that with a cap on Medicaid being enacted in 2005 and the County selling the Chautauqua County Home in 2014, perhaps there is no longer a justification for County Government to receive 85% of that extra 1% of sales tax.
He cited the County’s $40 million unassigned Fund Balance with $15 million being a baseline amount required, “A number of our municipalities are in deep financial trouble. A number of our municipalities are not looking at their huge fund balances. They’re looking at a very, very difficult financial picture. Some of it may be their own fault, some of it may be not.”
Larson suggested that perhaps the distribution percentage could be something like 75% to 25% or some other kind of division.
He also suggested that if the County didn’t have the flow of money coming in from the additional sales tax that the county workforce wouldn’t have increased by 20% over the last nine years, “By the way, if we had 1,100 employees instead of 1,200, 100 employees at $75,000 a year with the wage, New York State Retirement, the County health insurance, Medicare, Social Security, Disability, Unemployment, Worker’s Comp, our payroll would be $7.5 million less than it is. To me, easy money avoids hard decisions.”
Acting Legislative Attorney Steve Abdella confirmed that there would be enough time to still ask the state for the additional 1% if the Legislature took an extra month to discuss the resolution.
The motion to move the resolution back to the Audit & Control Committee passed in a bipartisan vote of 11 to 7 with Legislators Bob Bankoski, Marcus Buchanan, Tom Carle, Tamara Dickey, Fred Johnson, Phil Landy, Fred Larson, Tom Nelson, Dan Pavlock, Marty Proctor, and Legislative Chairman Pierre Chagnon voting yes.
I oppose all sales taxes because these taxes are regressive, that is, everyone pays the same rate regardless of ability to pay. The Bible says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” My Christian faith teaches us that the wealthy ought to pay more. It would be better, therefore, to increase the income tax, which is progressive (the rate increases with greater wealth and ability to pay).