The Wonderful EMS Tax

So the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a law, called the EMS Tax, that lets municipalities up their occupation tax (ie privilege to work tax) from $10 a year to $52 a year. Now I realize that this law was passed a while ago, AND I realize that not every municipality is charging $52 a year yet. So many of you may not be thinking about too much about this, and, in all reality neither was I. However, I just read an article in the regional EMS newsletter (the EMSI Intercom), about this tax. The reason the author chose to write about it was because when some ambulance services were sending out their subscription drive material. The notes send back with the subscription materials basically says why are you asking me to subscribe, I already paid my EMS tax. Well according to the author, it is a misnomer. It doesn't directly benefit EMS, but Emergency Services which include Police and Fire.

So what is so bad about that? Well the author goes to say that in a recent group he talked to (it may have been a class or some other gathering of EMS managers but I don't have article in front so I am not sure) and asked if anyone was receiving any funding from this new tax and only two people raised their hand. The point of the matter, of theses who are charging, very few are giving to their ambulance services, yet because of the name of the law people think they are paying for EMS by taxes, and it just isn't true.

So what happened when the author of the article went to talk to some legislators to get the name of the law changed, well essentially the law was a political liability to being with. That is why it got the name it did. So, he got the run around.

So for those of you out there that don't want to return your subscription because you already paid the "EMS Tax", just keep in mind that chances are, your EMS service didn't get it.

In Ranting,

Branden