Ft Wright Mayor Dave Hatter would like the state of Kentucky to know that the city of Ft Wright is not in favor of a centralized form of collection for the payroll tax.
To that end, at the last caucus meeting of the year, council passed a resolution hoping to ward off payroll tax centralization by making their objection lawful and legitimate.
“Kenton County already has a system for the cities in Kenton County, and we do work with them to streamline the processes for the local businesses,” Hatter said. “I know that this is probably coming from various business associations. I understand that if you work in many cities, like if you are a contractor, you would like to fill out just one form instead of repeating it in several cities, and you pay a fee for it. It is a gigantic pain. I get it.”
He stated that Ft Wright’s payroll tax rate is the lowest in Kenton County, and it is that way on purpose, so that they can attract more businesses.
“It is a competitive business advantage for us,” he explained. “More than 50 percent of our revenue comes from business-related taxes and fees. I want residents to keep as much of their money as possible.”
Hatter said Jill Bailey, the city’s CAO, had been meeting with other city administrators, and with JD Chaney from the Kentucky League of Cities, and the subject of centralized payroll tax collection had been discussed, so he thought it would be a good idea to get out in front of the issue.
“I don’t want to set off red flags,” he said. “But I am hoping to kill this idea. The KLC is against it, but I think that organization is less persuasive than it used to be. There are no bills that I have seen yet that have been introduced, but as I said, I want to get out in front of this. We are fighting against lobbyists and chamber types, so it is difficult to fight.”
Hatter asked his attorney to draw up a resolution that states that the city opposes any bills brought forth in the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly session by any member of the Kentucky Legislature, in full or in part, that provides for the centralized collection of local occupational business fees or taxes by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Hatter believes it would be detrimental to local cities to have the state take over the collection of the payroll taxes. He would like some other cities to speak up and possibly pass a resolution as well.
“I would like for our city to keep our rate,” said Hatter. “This resolution will make us take a stand.”
City of Fort Wright
Yes! Im a Realtor and we should not have to pay a fee in every county we sell a property in! The state of KY is the worst as far as taxes