CYPRESS : Despite Protest, City OKs Swap Meet Tax

The City Council has approved a new tax on swap meets, despite protests from a charitable organization that says the action means paying thousands in new taxes rather than using the money in anti-drug efforts.

The protest came from Straight Talk Inc., a Cypress-based, nonprofit organization that counsels young people against drug and alcohol abuse. A Straight Talk official said the organization raises a “substantial” part of its annual income from a swap meet held weekly at Cypress College.

In response to Straight Talk’s complaint, the City Council announced it will, in effect, refund tax-increase money to that charitable organization. The refund will come in the form of an annual donation to the organization, the council said.

The new tax will require each owner of a swap meet to pay the city $10 each day of operation plus 50 cents a day for every vending stall at the swap meet.

The tax is specifically aimed at a new swap meet scheduled to open in July at the Los Alamitos Race Track. But the levy also affects all other swap meets operating in the city, including the one held for the past 12 years on the campus of Cypress College.

Bruce Robbins, executive director of Straight Talk, appeared before the City Council at its meeting Monday night to protest the proposed tax.

“This would have a devastating impact on charitable services we provide for the community,” Robbins told the council. “It doesn’t seem fair. I urge you to find a way around it.”

Robbins asked that the college swap meet be made exempt from the new tax.

Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age instead proposed that the city return money to the organization. She said the donation money could simply be earmarked as part of the city’s annual budget. The council approved the idea and gave a 4-0 approval of first reading of an ordinance creating the new tax. Second and final reading of the tax ordinance is scheduled for the council’s June 27 meeting.

Robbins, in an interview, said he still has misgivings about the swap meet tax. He noted that reimbursement to a charitable organization must depend on the City Council’s year-by-year budget actions.

“We’re guaranteed that we’ll be taxed,” Robbins said. “We’re not guaranteed that we’ll always get the money back.”