Falls to Consider Implementing EIT Monday Night

The Falls Township Board of Supervisors at its December meeting will vote on whether to adopt an Earned Income Tax levy.   

The Board voted 3-2 to authorize advertisement of the proposed EIT, with Supervisors Erin Mullen and Brian Galloway casting no votes, earlier this week.

If the board approves EIT the tax would go into effect at the beginning of 2023.

A Falls 1 percent EIT, could net about $7 million “on the conservative side,” Supervisor Chairman Jeff Dence said.

A study cited by township officials found residents are paying about 3.5 million in taxes to other authorities- such as the municipalities where they work.

If the Falls Supervisors follow through on adding the tax, it would only change where the tax is paid, not how much. Instead of taxes being paid to another town, residents’ EIT would be paid locally, says a release from the township.

There is one group of residents EIT would not apply to, those working in the City of Philadelphia. They would continue to pay the tax there.

The EIT tax would be paid by anyone making more than $8000.00 yearly while working and or residing in Falls Twp.

Falls’ 2023 preliminary budget projects $5.25 million in revenue generated from the EIT, which would reduce the township’s reliance on landfill host community fees to $10.3 million officials said.

“Considering the EIT is a means for Falls to wean off the more than $1 million per month financial windfall that has been the landfill” the Township says.

“This township has relied on a landfill as long as I’ve lived here and much longer than that,” Dence said. “There is an end in sight for the landfill.”

EIT is a first step in securing the financial future for Falls once the landfill closes in several years, he said.

Neighboring Morrisville Borough enacted a 1 percent EIT in February of 2022. It went into effect July 1 2022. Officials said they approved the tax  as a way to generate new cash flow for the financially strapped municipality that has operated in the red over the last few years.

Langhorne Borough enacted the levy in October with it scheduled to effect January, 2023 citing a need to create a new cash stream to hire a new Borough Manager and launch public works related efforts, said Borough officials.

The boroughs of Bristol, Langhorne Manor, Tullytown and Yardley and the townships of Falls and Lower Makefield, according to state data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development are the remaining municipalities that have not enacted an EIT.

Most people who work in Pennsylvania pay a 1-percent earned income tax. Many are not aware the tax is deducted from their paychecks. However, knowing where the EIT is paid can make all the difference.

“This township has relied on a landfill as long as I’ve lived here and much longer than that,” Dence said. “There is an end in sight for the landfill.”

As a result, Dence said the EIT is a first step in securing the financial future for Falls once the landfill closes in several years.

Supervisors Vice Chairman Jeff Boraski called the EIT “a tough decision.”

“It’s the future of the township,” Boraski said. “We’re losing $3.5 million.”

Supervisor John Palmer voted in favor of advertising the EIT but said he’s unsure about instituting the tax.

“I know a ton of people that don’t pay any right now,” he said. “We might have to go back to the budget and make some hard decisions.”

The Falls Supervisors will consider adopting the EIT at its next meeting on Dec. 19.

You can find a wealth of information about the Earned Income Tax at the Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development by clicking here.