Southwest Greensburg's new $100 business privilege tax is due Thursday, but many borough business owners say they've heard nothing about it.

The borough council approved the tax in December, beleaguered by rising costs and in need for new revenue to balance the budget, said borough manager Corry Sheffler. Council also approved a $20 annual business registration fee and a one-time $20 registration fee for residential rental units.

Businesses and landlords were supposed to register last month, but local business owners say they were not informed.

Bill Reese owns Creekside Landscape Supply on South Main Street. He said he would not mind paying an extra $120 in taxes and fees to help keep the borough afloat, but he only heard about the tax a few days ago from another business owner.

“I never got anything in the mail,” he said.

The borough did send businesses information about the new tax and fees several months ago in a flier accompanying garbage bills, according to Sheffler.

“We just tried to cut back on some of the mailing costs,” he said.

However, Sheffler said he is aware some owners did not see the flier.

The borough will be lenient with late payers even though the deadline has arrived, because this is the first year the tax has been in place, Sheffler said.

Business owners who have not paid will receive a mailing soon, and no one will be penalized for missing the deadline unless they explicitly refuse to pay the tax.

“We're just going to do it very relaxed this year,” he said.

There are about 70 businesses in the borough, according to Sheffler.

Joe Shedlock, owner of Joe's Sports Cards and Collectibles on South Main Street, said he had no idea there was a new tax and was displeased to hear about it Wednesday.

“I really think it would stink that they've even implemented something like that,” he said. “Tax, tax, tax, that's what everybody wants to do.”

Charles Kaylor Jr., owner of Kaylor Displays on Sidney Street, said Wednesday that he had heard nothing about the new tax. He said he wouldn't mind paying the tax but hopes it is not a harbinger of more to come.

“It's not going to put anybody out of business,” he said of the tax. “Hopefully it won't be the first step of many to saddle more of the burden on businesses.”

Sheffler said rising pension costs forced the borough to look for another source of revenue.

The landlord registration fee was implemented so the borough can keep track of who is living where, Sheffler said. He serves as Southwest Greensburg's tax collector and recently discovered that the borough was sending tax papers to people who had moved away years ago.

“I was just shocked at how out of date our databases were for our per-capita taxes,” he said. “We know who the property owners are, but we don't know who the tenants are.”

Landlords now must pay a $20 fee to register each residential unit they own, with information about the tenants who live there.

They will need to pay the fee again to update the registration whenever the occupant of a unit changes, Sheffler said.

Jacob Tierney is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.

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