Atlanta councilman proposes tax on commuters' wages

ATLANTA - With the city facing a budget deficit of as much as $90 million, an Atlanta councilman has suggested a payroll tax on suburban residents who work here as a way to fund police and fire departments, improve streets, lights and sewers and provide other city services. <br> <br> C.T. Martin said Wednesday the tax would target those who are ``getting away without paying their fair share.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``They come into the city, enjoy the best jobs, add to our pollution and traffic problems, leave nothing behind and then they drive home,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Martin, who plans to introduce the idea of a 1 percent payroll tax on commuters at the next council meeting Jan. 21, said it&#39;s ``an issue of fairness.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``We are a city of about 417,000 people, but we serve about 800,000 everyday,&#39;&#39; he said. ``The people who live here want some of that financial responsibility spread around where it belongs.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Officials with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce dismissed Martin&#39;s proposal, saying new Mayor Shirley Franklin has established a task force to study the city&#39;s financial bind. <br> <br> ``It would be premature and, frankly, inappropriate to respond to this proposal,&#39;&#39; Chamber president Sam Williams said. ``I think Shirley Franklin is much wiser than C.T. Martin in solving this problem. He just pops off the tops of his head with this idea and everybody goes crazy about it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A commuter tax would have to pass not only in the Atlanta city government where it has failed once already but also in the state Legislature. <br> <br> Rep. Bob Irvin, R-Fulton, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday that he would oppose Martin&#39;s proposal in the Capitol, if it gets that far. <br> <br> Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, said he thinks Martin has a good idea but virtually no chance of seeing it become law. <br> <br> ``Big opponents of it are going to be major corporations that employ a lot of people in Atlanta, and suburban legislators Democrat and Republican whose constituents would be affected,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Martin said a number of U.S. cities New York; Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.; Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; Columbus, Ohio; St. Louis; and Detroit already have similar taxes. <br> <br> Pete Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, said the list of cities with so-called ``commuter taxes&#39;&#39; is itself a powerful argument against one. <br> <br> ``It begins with Akron and ends with Youngstown,&#39;&#39; he said. ``The cities that have adopted this kind of policy are virtual case studies in urban decay.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> According to NTU, an organization that promotes lower taxes and less waste by government, 25 cities in the country levy a payroll tax on people who work but don&#39;t live inside city limits. <br> <br> Critics of the idea say it would give businesses another reason to locate outside the city, depriving Atlanta of much needed property, income and sales tax revenue. <br> <br> ``Sometimes these decisions about where to locate are close calls, and something like that could make a difference,&#39;&#39; said Dwight Lee, a professor of economics at the University of Georgia&#39;s Terry College of Business. <br> <br> Lee, who analyzes the economic side of political decision-making, said more direct user fees, such as tolls on roads and fees for service, are often more effective. <br> <br> ``A tax could work if it were appropriately levied, if the cost of collecting the tax were not more than it generates, and if the revenue were used to do the things the city needs to do,&#39;&#39; Lee said. ``But that&#39;s a lot of ifs.&#39;&#39;

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