RITA Handles Income Taxes for Municipalities
BRECKSVILLE – Since its inception in 1971, the Regional Income Tax Agency has grown to provide municipal tax services to nearly half of Ohio’s municipalities.
The average RITA municipality receives $5 million in collections, at a net cost of 1.5%. In 2018, RITA had a net distribution of $1.4 billion to 300 cities and villages in Ohio.
RITA’s growth goes beyond just the municipalities it serves, however. As the agency grows, notes Executive Director Don Smith, so do the services it offers taxpayers.
The agency recently relaunched its MyAccount program, which lets users create their own account to file their taxes online. Out of the 800,000 individual tax returns RITA processed in 2019, 29% were filed electronically through either MyAccount or FastFile.
“When people pay their taxes it’s never a fun time for them. That’s why we listen to all of their comments and read all of their reviews.” Smith says. “We want to make what we are doing as easy as possible for them. From filing their taxes online to calling one of our agents, we want to make sure they are receiving the highest level of customer support that leaves them feeling better about their experience.”
In 2019, the agency’s call center answered more than 230,000 inquiries from taxpayers. On average, each call was answered within 52 seconds. RITA also assisted 33,000 walk-in taxpayers across bricks-and-mortar sites, according to Smith.
“We are always thinking about what will help us better serve our member municipalities without raising our costs of providing those services,” he says. “Our members find security in knowing that RITA will always be here to offer high-quality tax services to their residents at the lowest possible cost to them.”
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
