Smaller paycheck in 2012?

As of January 1, many employers have begun to withhold Mt. Lebanon wage taxes.  It is the final phase of Pennsylvania Act 32. Gone are the days of receiving quarterly reminders from the tax office.  Your taxes will be withheld from your paycheck.

What does this mean for Mt. Lebanon? With a 30% rental rate, we could experience a gain in local taxes. It might generate more in revenue than our block party fee.  But Mt. Lebanon is one community that had tax collection down to a science.

The automatic withholding could help municipalities collect from residents who don’t file their quarterly payments. “It could, because it will create a better universe of payers,” Rick Schuettler, [deputy executive director for the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities] said. “It ultimately could find more people who aren’t on the rolls.”

But Schuettler is taking a “wait and see” stance as to whether Act 32 will be a success. “If it results in better collection, a better process for employers, and a higher percentage collection of the universe [taxpayers] of what is out there who should be paying, if that’s what the result is, then it will be better for municipalities.”

Read more: Automatic Withholding Of Wage Taxes Begins in Pennsylvania