Conover hikes business taxes

April 3, 2012

Conover will increase taxes on its retail businesses in an effort to generate an estimated $130,000 in new revenue.

Beginning May 1, the city of Conover will collect taxes based on how much a business makes in a year, a change from the current system that charges businesses based solely on flat operation fees.

"A local convenience store is currently paying about $19 and doing sales of about a million dollars a year," said City Manager Donald Duncan, "whereas a superstore is doing in excess of $50 million a year and is paying $39. It's not an equitable formula. This will create a system of businesses paying fees based on performance."

Conover City Council voted 4-1 Monday night to use a modified privilege-license system. The vote followed a public hearing in which no one spoke.

To read more of this story, pick up the Wednesday edition of Catawba County's community newspaper, The Observer News Enterprise, at newsstands throughout the county.