Report Finds Business Tax Reforms Workable

The city Office of Finance issued a revised report Thursday that indicates the city may be able to afford business tax reforms pending in City Council, including an exemption from the gross receipts tax for firms that earn $100,000 or less.

The reforms would cost the city $95 million when fully implemented but would be more than offset by a growth in the tax base of $84 million by 2010, $30 million in additional taxes collected from firms that are audited, and $45 million in a trust fund set up to blunt the budgetary effect of any reforms, the report said.