Easton Schedules Commuter Tax Hearing

Do you want to weigh in on Easton's ?

You'll get your chance next month.

City Council will hold a public hearing on the tax at 6 p.m. Monday, July 16 at city hall. Council is expected to adopt the ordinance creating the tax soon after, although that could get held up if anyone appeals the ordinance, said John Nixon, who's advising the city on the tax.

"But the appeal can’t just be 'We don’t like the tax,''' Nixon told council's finance committee Tuesday night. "The appeal would have to assert some sort of deficiency with which the tax was implanted."

The proposal would raise the earned income tax on people who work but don't live in Easton from 1 percent to 1.75 percent starting Jan. 1, 2013.

The city has said it needs the extra income to pay off rising pension and legal costs.

So far, it hasn't been a popular proposal. wrote to the city back in April objecting to the tax increase. A majority of the people around the same time also said they weren't in favor of a higher EIT for commuters.