Municipalities throughout Broome County are pushing for a return to the 50-50 sales tax split between themselves and the county.
In 2009, Broome County instituted a cap on all municipalities’ share of the sales tax revenue to help the county itself get through some economic hardships. In recent weeks, there’s been a strong push for change back to a split down the middle.
The Binghamton City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the 50-50 split last week. Binghamton leaders say that if the cap on the municipalities’ share had not been in place, Binghamton alone would have received close to $3 million in revenue over the past two years. That revenue could have been used to cut taxes or hire police officers or firefighters.
The city is urging county leaders to restore the 50-50 split policy by this coming budget season.
