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Lamar County — Paris Economic Development Plan <br />There is unfortunately a long list of communities which have fallen into economic decline as a <br />result of the actions of local governments. Due to the promulgation of excessive regulations and <br />punitive taxes, these areas have been losing their primary employers to communities which have <br />a more favorable business climate. <br />Local Government <br />RESEARCHER <br />Community <br />Property taxes <br />4.0 <br />3.0 <br />Income taxes <br />NA <br />NA <br />Fees and assessments <br />4.0 <br />3.2 <br />Business climate <br />3.5 <br />3.2 <br />Property Taxes <br />Locally levied property taxes have a significant impact upon companies which have a large <br />capital investment in their facility. Paris has a relatively high property tax rate and this will be <br />an issue if Paris competes with communities in lower tax rate states such as Texas. <br />Recommendation: Mechanisms need to be in place to abate or reduce the property taxes for <br />qualified companies. <br />Income Taxes <br />Some cities, mostly in the Midwest, have enacted municipal income taxes. Since there is no <br />locally levied income tax in Paris, this is a positive issue. <br />Recommendation: There is no specific action the community needs to take regarding this issue <br />relative to economic development. <br />Fees and Assessments <br />Locally levied fees and assessments have added significant costs to primary employers in some <br />areas. Most of these communities are located in California, Florida, Oregon, and most of the <br />states on the eastern seaboard. Many times the fees are enacted to create a new revenue source <br />for local government. In lieu of increasing taxes on the voting residential population, the <br />corporate community is mined for more money. <br />Excessive fees and assessments are not an issue in Paris. <br />Recommendation: The community should resist attempts by local government to add special <br />fees, charges, assessments, or taxes against its primary employers. <br />Business climate <br />Paris Economic Development Corporation Page 31 <br />