Dover tax commission recommends 0.4% earned-income tax increase; school board tables decision

Alina Ducharme, chair of the Earned Income Tax Commission, told the Dover Area School District board the commission recommends increasing the district's earned-income tax (EIT) by 0.4 percentage points to shift revenue from property taxes to wages and provide property-tax relief for homestead and farmstead owners.

The commission's report, Ducharme said, estimated a 0.4% EIT increase would raise about $2,000,000 in the first year and provide an average homestead/farmstead exclusion worth about $312.50 per qualifying property; the commission estimated the average wage earner would pay roughly $270 more in EIT under that scenario. "The commission has recommended a point 4% increase in earned income tax," Ducharme said during the presentation.

The board and the commission emphasized the increase would not automatically raise district revenue to spend: under the state process discussed at the meeting, EIT revenue taken under the Property Relief Act would be applied to homestead and farmstead exclusions and any margin over the statutory maximum could be used by the…