Business Tax, Inspection Fee Studied for County : Budget: Some owners in unincorporated areas are irate over the proposals, which would raise about $439,000.

To help offset an expected $13-million deficit, county officials are considering establishing a tax on businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county.

The business license tax, based on gross company income, together with a fee to finance inspections, would net the county about $439,000 once administrative costs are deducted, county officials said.

The County Board of Supervisors will consider the tax and fee Tuesday.

Authority for the new tax comes from state legislation passed last year to help counties offset state funding cuts. It’s the same legislation that lets counties bill cities for booking prisoners into jail and assess school districts for collecting property taxes.

City and school officials balked at that added expense, and now irate business owners are complaining that the county is unfairly penalizing them.

Steve Barnard, president of Mission Produce near Oxnard, said it isn’t right that the county can add a tax whenever it faces tough economic times.

“Everyone needs to tighten his belt,” including the county, he said. “Cutting costs--has that been lost from their vocabularies?” He said his avocado packing company, which employs 75 people, would have to pay several thousand dollars under the new tax.

“What other services will I get for this? Nothing,” Barnard said.

He said the tax would encourage other businesses to leave the county. “I’m not going to take this lying down.”

County officials admit that the new business tax would fund no new services, but they make no apology.

“The state gave us this option,” said Kathy King, the county’s senior administrative analyst. “If the businesses feel that way, they should direct their anger to the state, not the county.”

She said the county is looking at all ways of offsetting an expected $13-million budget deficit for the next fiscal year. “Belt-tightening is being looked at seriously too,” she said.

She pointed out that cities in the county already impose a similar tax on businesses. Four other counties in the state have adopted similar taxes for unincorporated areas, she said.

She said an estimated 3,000 businesses in the unincorporated area would be affected by the tax and fee. Growers would be exempt--as they are in the cities--because of the county’s orientation toward preserving agriculture, she said.

Businesses would be taxed at the rate of 50 cents to $1.50 per $1,000 of gross income, depending on the type of business and the profit margin it generates, according to the proposal. A medium-sized business that grosses $500,000 a year would pay $250 to $750 under the tax, King said. The minimum tax would be $35 a year.

The so-called regulatory compliance fee, which would pay for inspectors to check for zoning or other violations, would cost each business $70 a year. The licensing tax and the fee would require the county to hire six new employees.

Bills for the new tax and fee would be mailed out annually, with the first one due July 1, King said.

Ralph Schumacher, president of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn., said businesses are already bombarded with costs that make operating difficult. He said another tax just makes it worse.

“We’re already in a serious recessionary time that is affecting business,” he said. “Why can’t we find ways of reducing the cost of running government? Business can’t continue to pay for these expenses.”