In the wake of a senior Judge's opinion invaldiating Scrantoin's controversial commuter tax, DA John Morganelli has contacted Executive John Brown and asked him to stop collecting Easton's commuter tax in Northampton County.
Morganelli notes that in 2012, Northampton County Council unanimously adopted a resolution opposed to this tax. Then Executive Joihn Stoffa noted that no one in Easton government had even reached out to the County about this tax, which hurts nearly every row office worker. Then Council President John Cusick called it "taxation without representation." Morganelli noted that County could choose to rely on Judge Braxton's decision, though it is not legally binding.
Both Brown and his Solicitor, Vic Scomillio, have vowed to look into the matter.
"Taxation has to be uniform and apply to all similarly situated," Morganelli observes.
Thanks to Easton's commuter tax, many courthouse workers have seen their meager increases gobbled up. Health plan changes are putting them in harm's way as well. Brown could get back some of the good will he's lost by suspending that tax.
If Easton wants the commuterr tax, let them sue for it.
15 comments:
a proposed slap in the face to our bar and judiciary. If all those elected had challenged this in local court our judges could have decided the merit. But let Lackawanna court or some senior judge make the determination. Says a lot about our lawyers and judiciary. By the way, you wrote about Braxton before, after Ron Angle called him senile and after the superior court had to intervene on one of his decisions. Maybe they will intervene on this one.
woe is me, the poor county workers
Morganelli and you are 100% correct on this. The previous commenter makes a good point about the lack of the previous council's guts to sue Panto when he first signed his tax.
Panto gives his budget address in a couple of hours. maybe he'll sack up, apologize, and eliminate the tax. Then again, that would be like Easton without daytime gunfire: not going to happen.
So will County employees get to recoup the money that was taken out of their pay for commuter taxes?
That would be the idea
You have a basic misunderstanding of the judicial system. No judge has the authority to reach out on his own and invalidate a law. Also, no lawyer can file a challenge without a client..
You also have your facts wrong. I'm no Braxton fan, but Angle never called him senile. He got stuck with Braxton for calling another judge senile.
It isn't just county workers that are affected by this tax. EVERY non-resident who works in the city of Easton was taxed without representation.
I'm glad it was struck down somewhere. Otherwise, every city, township, or borough would keep increasing or institute this "commuter" tax to make up for its own shortfalls and lack of spending control.
The E-T is reporting he's going to increase the commuter tax. Panto to county workers: "Fuck You."
Wait a second, County council voted to condemn the tax. Let's see. They all had to pay the tax, and they could not figure out that they could hire a lawyer to challenge the tax. Of course, the judges would have to recuse themselves because they had to pay the tax also. But who needs the judges anyway when Potter County's bench can establish a precedent in Northampton County.
The tax was not challenged, but look at who our Solicitor was at the time. It should be challenged. There is something uniquely un-American about forcing persons to pay a tax, yet giving them no say in the government. We fought a war over that, remember? Though the ruling from Lackawanna County is not binding, and there are differences between Scranton and Easton, there are enough similarities to take a shot at overturning it.
Also, aside from legalities, a commuter tax is just an incredibly dumb idea. I was at a symposium on local government at Lehigh last week. Lots of people from Lehigh County were there, but NOT ONE NorCo Council member, not one Easton City Council member, and certainly no Sal Panto. He was probably busy, washing and waxing mark Mulligan's car.
Had he been there, he would have seen the results of a study done by Dr. Robert Inman, an economist at the Eharton School. Wage taxes and commuter taxes DRIVE JOBS AND BUSINESS OUT OF THE CITY. In fact, Philly is currently reducing its rates, and in the next three years, Inman projects there will be 8.375 new jobs in the City.
Panto is using a tool that will just drive Easton into more financial distress. The tax should be repealed completely, certainly not increased.
I hate county workers and anybody who runs from my increasingly violent hell hole - especially Forks Township clowns. Pay up and shut up. We got a new trolley, assholes. You got one of them in Forks or Bethlehem Township? I didn't think so. Southside 4-evah yo. Go Red Rovers. Woot woot.
Doesn't Allentown impose the same tax on commuters?
Is it a coincidence that Panto announced an increase in Easton's version of this tax today? It is incredibly bad timing to throw caution to the wind and go for it IMO.
What's wrong with J. Braxton other than the fact that he put a set of manners on your idol?
First, he put no manners on the bulldog. You're nuts to think that. Second, he's just not very good. I'm used to NorCo and Lehigh judges, who are pretty sharp. He's just not at their level. Nice enough guy, and he may be right in a bigger sense, but I have little confidence in his legal reasoning. But then again, I'm a suspended lawyer, so who cares?
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