Inglewood : Officials to Meet Doctors
City officials are holding a reception tonight for out-of-town doctors who work at local hospitals to discuss a business tax that has angered some physicians and hospital administrators.
The tax requires physicians to pay a minimum fee of $30 a year on billings of up to $20,000 and $1.50 for every additional $1,000 in billings for work done in Inglewood.
Though the physician business tax was enacted more than 10 years ago, city officials have not tried to collect it from out-of-town doctors until recent cutbacks in federal funds prompted officials to look for new sources of revenue.
About four weeks ago, city officials sent letters to 400 out-of-town doctors demanding back payment of the tax for the last three years. Only 60 or so out-of-town physicians have paid and several others have asked for extensions.
City officials have received about 100 complaints and officials at Centinela Hospital, one of two large, nonprofit hospitals in the city, filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court in June seeking to revoke the tax.
Mayor Edward Vincent, City Manager Paul Eckles and other city officials will meet with doctors at 6:30 p.m. in community room A in Inglewood City Hall, One Manchester Boulevard.
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