Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who had pushed for recent cuts to the business income and receipts tax, confirmed Thursday that he and others were abandoning their effort to cut taxes in the city budget that takes effect July 1. He said Council members want to be aligned with Parker and to wait for recommendations from the new Tax Reform Commission that are expected to be published in the fall.
Thomas said Thursday he’s concerned that not passing tax cuts this year sends the “wrong message” to businesses but is confident that Council will remain committed to tax cuts in the long run. Neither Council nor the mayor this year proposed changing the real estate tax rate, which is 1.3998% of a property’s assessed value. But the city is resuming property reassessments in the next fiscal year after a one-year hiatus in the final year of Mayor
With debates about tax policy all but settled, Council and the administration now have one week to hash out a final deal on spending allocations for the next budget.