Council Delays Vote on Tax Data Access

A sharply divided City Council has delayed action on a controversial proposal that would allow its members to see merchants’ state sales tax data.

At Mayor Tom Carroll’s request, the council agreed not to vote on the issue until its April 14 meeting. Carroll said that Monday night’s session drew fewer people than usual because of the Academy Awards broadcast and that he would prefer to hear more public comment.

The proposal before the council would ask the State Board of Equalization to give council members a list of the top 25 retailers in the city, based on sales taxes. The list would not be ranked by amount paid but would simply be in alphabetical order.

Councilwoman Mary Ann Jones said that knowing the biggest tax producers is important because Cypress would not want to lose them. “We’re interested in looking at the big picture,” she said. “It gives us a heads-up.”

Councilman Tim Keenan said he favors the idea. Some Orange County cities have lost big sales tax producers by not being mindful of them, he said.

But council members Walter K. Bowman and Anna L. Piercy said they strenuously oppose opening such data to the council, even though members would be forbidden to discuss the information or disclose it to anyone else.

“We don’t need this information,” Piercy said. “It’s just one new thing we’re going to do that causes us problems.”

Bowman said that having the tax information might pose conflicts of interest for some council members and that its disclosure could hurt some businesses.

“Loose lips sink ships,” he said. “The system is not foolproof.”