With Toledo's income tax revenue falling like a stone, mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski Thursday proposed cutting it even more in an effort to boost green energy inventiveness in Toledo.
Mr. Wilkowski proposed offering a 100 percent credit of Toledo's 2.25 percent income tax to individuals who get patents in fields such as wind, solar, biofuels, advanced materials, and bioscience.
The idea was unveiled at a meeting with Toledo entrepreneurs Dan and Amy Miller, owners of Ugly Data Inc., at the University of Toledo's Clean and Alternative Energy Incubator, who are pioneering a method of "virtual" data storage that uses a fraction of the energy used in standard computer servers.
Mr. Wilkowski said he would cap his program at $1 million a year, although he said it would likely start out at far less than that.
Toledo income tax revenue fell by more than $15 million in 2008, and more losses are expected in 2009, raising fears of police layoffs.
On Tuesday, City Council voted down a proposal from Mayor Carty Finkbeiner to cut in half the 100 percent tax credit extended to city residents who work and pay payroll taxes in other cities, effectively raising taxes on more than 19,000 taxpayers, as a way of raising $5.2 million.Mr. Finkbeiner did not immediately respond to a request for a comment placed yesterday through his spokesman, Jason Webber.
Mr. Wilkowski said he agreed with council in opposing the reduction in the tax credit, and rejected the suggestion that his inventor's tax credit would simply drain more money from the depleted general fund.
"We have the money. The question is our priorities. I'm going to fundamentally reorganize city government and make sure we're putting the dollars where they need to be, and they clearly need to be in areas that are promoting the development of these kinds of businesses in Toledo," Mr. Wilkowski said.
Republican mayoral candidate Jim Moody said too many unanswered questions remain about the proposed tax credit.
He said it offered little advantage over a township with no income tax.
"I don't see how this relieves unemployment now or in the fairly near future," Mr. Moody said.
Mr. Wilkowski also said he would lobby the federal government to open a patent office in Toledo, and he would change the name of the city's Department of Development to the Office of Innovation, Technology and Jobs.
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