June 05, 2003
County Works On Plan As State Uninterested In Collecting Tax
With the state indicating it doesn't want to help, Multnomah County and City of Portland officials are working on the plan for collecting the new county income tax:
The good news is that either the city or the county probably can collect the tax for less than the $7 million included in the tax for administrative costs.
Dave Boyer, county finance director, estimated Wednesday that startup costs would run approximately $1.1 million and annual collection expenses would be about $3.5 million.
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The county's first choice for a "seamless" collection mechanism was the state Department of Revenue. But Boyer said the state is unwilling to tackle collections while phasing in a new computer system of its own.
County Chair Diane Linn appears to believe that since the county asked for the tax, it's now up to the county to manage its collection. According to the Oregonian, Boyer says the collection process should include a single-page form, an electronic payment option, and the option to pay the county tax in person.