Latest news with #SROs
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Special meeting called to address funding of Barrow Co. school resource officers
Barrow County Commissioners called a special meeting Monday night to discuss a plan to change the way school resource officers (SROs) are funded. Commissioners explained to the crowd that the county has split the cost of deputies in schools with the board of education since 1997. By 2017, the number of SROs in schools rose to 12, and both agencies agreed to pay 50/50 to fund the program. Last fall, Barrow County School System said it increased the number of SROs from 12 to 16 due to population. In September, the Board of Education announced plans to raise that number to 24 after the deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School. However, in November, county commissioners said voters decided to exempt senior citizens of a certain age and income from paying school taxes. Because of that, some commissioners argue they cannot help the board pay for the SRO program. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'I have a fiscal responsibility to you guys as tax payers, okay?' Commissioner Kenny Shook told the crowd. Commission Chairman Pat Graham told people at the meeting, 'Senior citizens that are exempt must be ensured they aren't paying any school expenses through their county property tax bill.' Commissioner Alex Ward and Joe Goodman argued deputies' work extends beyond the campus. 'I feel we, ultimately, should be a partner with the school system,' said Goodman. The board said the current budget proposal they are considering honors a 2017 agreement to help pay for 12 SROs. Commission spokesperson Brian Stewart said expect that to change to zero at a later date, 'to ensure the citizens of Barrow County are not backdoor taxed on a school system function.' Commission Chairman Graham said the Board of Education has enough money saved up to pay for the cost of all 24 SROs. 'We know that they can do it, and we know that they will,' said Graham. Last Tuesday, Barrow County School System staff presented a budget plan to the Board of Education, and agreed the board does have enough funds to pay for the SRO program. Staff did not recommend using savings to pay for the SROs because it is a recurring cost. Instead, staff recommends the board raise property taxes to pay for it. The Board of Education has public hearings on June 12 and June 23 before a final vote on the budget June 24. County Commissioners vote on their budget June 24. Their public comment hearing happened Monday evening. TRENDING STORIES: 2 women critically injured after shooting on I-20 Driver pulls out knife on couple driving too slow in Kennesaw neighborhood, police say Georgia man drowns after caught in Gulf rip current Five people signed up to speak. One of them was Apalachee High School teacher Charity Lee. 'This year? This year some of you are questioning whether the county should fund SROs after an officer saved lives in our school? You're asking if it's worth it? Could you be more callous?' Lee told commissioners. She said she does not buy the senior tax exemption excuse. 'Our SROs are not school employees. They are fully sworn deputies, many with SWAT training who serve our campuses and the broader community,' said Lee. Barrow United members carried signs into the commissioner meeting that urged leaders to change their plan. 'Return to the table with the Board of Education immediately, and recommit to a sustainable joint investment,' Layla Renee Contreras told commissioners. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Tax relief costs kitty Rs5.84trn
ISLAMABAD: Total tax exemptions, concessions/reduced rates, zero-rating and special tax treatments to various businesses, sectors/industries, lobbies/groups and investors have cost the government Rs 5,840.2 billion in 2024-25 against Rs3,879.2 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs 1,961 billion. The Economic Survey (2024-25) released on Monday revealed that the cost of tax exemptions registered a growth of 50.55 per cent during 2024-25 as compared to tax expenditure in 2023-24. In 2023-24, the revenue loss on account of tax exemptions was increased by 73 percent against 2022-23. Tax exemptions, zero-rating cost kitty over Rs3.87trn The tax-expenditure report-2025 pinpointed that sales tax exemption to petroleum products, duty concessions on imports, reduced rates of sales tax and overall sales tax exemptions on imports and local supplies were major contributor to the increased revenue loss during 2024-25. The latest survey has not mentioned revenue loss on account of tax exemptions available to industrial units located in erstwhile tribal areas during 2024-25. This exemption will be withdrawn through the Finance Bill (2025-26) with revenue impact of nearly Rs 50 billion. Out of the total cost of exemptions of Rs 5,840.2 billion in 2024-25, sales tax exemption (SRO.321(I)/2022) on local supplies of petroleum products caused a massive revenue loss of Rs 1,496,124 million during the current fiscal year. The revenue loss due to sales tax exemption from imports and local supplies showed an increase of Rs 985 billion in2024-25. The Economic Survey (2024-25) disclosed that the sales tax expenditure remained highest during 2024-25 as compared to revenue loss on account of income tax and customs duty. All kinds of sales tax exemptions/concessions caused revenue loss of Rs 4,253,472 million; followed by income tax loss of Rs 800,821 million and customs duty revenue loss of Rs 785,871 million during 2024-25. The single-largest contributor to the surge in sales tax exemptions was the exemption from sales tax on petroleum products through statutory regulatory orders (SROs), showing a massive revenue loss of Rs1,496,124 million during 2024-25. The sales tax exemption on import of petroleum products caused revenue loss of Rs299,640 million during this period. The survey disclosed that the fixed sales tax regime on cellular mobile phones caused a revenue loss of Rs 87,950 million in 2024-25 as compared to Rs33,057 million in 2023-24, showing an increase of Rs 54,893 million. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has suffered a revenue loss of Rs372 billion on account of sales tax exemption on imports during 2024-25 as compared to Rs214 billion during 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs158 billion. Sales tax exemption on local supplies caused a revenue loss of Rs613 billion in 2024-25 as compared to Rs461 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of over Rs152 billion. The cost of income tax exemptions amounted to 800.8 billion against Rs476.9 billion, showing an increase of Rs323.9 billion and the cost of customs duty exemptions was Rs785.8 billion in 2024-25 against Rs543.5 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs242.3 billion. The Economic Survey has not mentioned revenue loss on account of exempt business income granted to independent power producers (IPPs). Similarly, the survey has not mentioned any revenue loss from capital gains. The accumulative revenue loss on account of tax credits amounted to Rs101 billion in 2024-25 against Rs24.374 billion in 2023-24, showing an increase of Rs76.627 billion. The income tax exemption from special provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance has caused revenue loss of Rs52 billion during 2024-25 as compared to Rs 62.756 billion during 2023-24. The income tax exemption from total income has revenue impact of Rs 443.445 billion during the period under review. The income tax exemption available to the deductible allowances caused revenue loss of Rs 16.4 billion in 2024-25 against Rs 5.912 billion in 2023-24, showing an increase of Rs 10.488 billion. The reduction in income tax rates has revenue implications of Rs 45 billion during 2024-25 as compared to Rs25.492 billion in 2023-24, showing an increase of Rs19.508 billion. The FBR has suffered a massive revenue loss of Rs985.594 billion in 2024-25 as compared to Rs675 billion in 2023-24 due to sales tax exemptions available under the Sixth Schedule (Exemption Schedule) of the Sales Tax Act. The loss on account of sales tax exemption (import and domestic stage) has been increased by nearly Rs985 billion. The FBR has suffered a loss of Rs617.347 billion due to sales tax exemptions available under the Eight Schedule (Conditional Exemption/reduced rates) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, during the period of 2024-25 against Rs357.997 billion in 2023-24. The revenue loss from conditional exemptions has been increased by Rs259.35 billion. The total revenue loss from the zero-rating facility granted to various sectors under the Fifth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, amounted to Rs 683.429 billion during the period under review against Rs206.053 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs477.376 billion. The FBR has not specified any revenue loss to the exemptions within the federal excise regime, reflecting no loss occurred on this account. The cost of income tax exemptions was Rs800.8 billion in 2024-25 against Rs476.960 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs323.84. The cost of exemptions in respect of customs duty has been calculated at Rs785.9 billion in 2024-25 as compared to Rs543.521 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs242.379 billion. The exemption of customs duty available under Chapter-99 (special classification provisions) of the Customs Act has caused a revenue loss of Rs 33.481 billion in 2024-25 against Rs34.864 billion in 2023-24, reflecting a decrease of Rs 1.383 billion. The concessions under the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969 caused a revenue loss of Rs 379.746 billion in 2024-25 against Rs190.688 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an increase of Rs189 billion. The FBR has suffered revenue loss of Rs 61 billion in 2024-25 against Rs44.107 billion in 2023-24 on account of tariff concessions and exemptions available under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). The revenue loss has increased by Rs 17 billion. Similarly, exemption of customs duty on the items by the automobile sector, exploration and production (E&P) companies, general concessions and the CPEC caused a loss of Rs 133.236 billion in 2024-25 against Rs146.598 billion in 2023-24, showing a decrease of Rs13.362 billion. The export-related exemptions cost revenue loss of Rs178.435 billion during 2024-25 against Rs127.264 billion during 2023-24, reflecting a massive increase of Rs51.171 billion. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
MFI stress to be steady in next few quarters: RBI Deputy Governor
Stress in the microfinance portfolio is expected to stabilise over the next couple of quarters, Swaminathan J, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said on Friday during the post-monetary policy press meet. Meanwhile, RBI on Friday relaxed the qualifying criteria for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) to be classified as Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). Under the revised criteria, NBFCs will have to maintain 60 per cent of their assets in the microfinance loan portfolio instead of the earlier 75 per cent. 'The entities predominantly in this segment have already identified, recalibrated their business models, and stepped up their collection methodologies. We have also seen a shrinkage of that portfolio due to this recalibration,' Swaminathan said, referring to MFIs. 'So, maybe over a period of time, over the next couple of quarters, this should stabilise,' he added, cautioning that much will depend on overall economic conditions and income levels, as MFI portfolios remain the most vulnerable segment. Data from CRIF High Mark shows that the delinquency rate (loans overdue by 90+ days) in the microfinance sector was 1.3 per cent in Q4 FY24, down from 1.8 per cent in Q3, but it remains a key concern for lenders. 'Q1 (FY26) is likely to see a peak in slippages. The various guardrails put in place by MFIN and Sa-Dhan are expected to benefit the sector in the long run. However, they will cause some short-term pain, which was necessary to clean the system. By Q2 or Q3, slippages should start to moderate. The only caveat is that MFI growth this year is expected to remain muted due to asset quality challenges coupled with slower growth,' said an official from a private bank. According to the CRIF High Mark report, the gross loan portfolio of NBFC-MFIs shrank by 18.2 per cent year-on-year to ₹1.8 trillion at the end of 31 March 2025. Experts said RBI's move to relax the qualifying criteria for NBFCs to be classified as MFIs will allow these companies to diversify into secured assets and continue growth, especially as self-regulatory organisations (SROs) tighten guardrails on the MFI portfolio. 'Reduction in the qualifying asset criteria for NBFC-MFIs shall improve their loan diversification, thereby augmenting their credit risk profile, and shall enable them to meet other credit requirements of their end borrowers,' said A M Karthik, Senior Vice President, ICRA. Ganesh Narayanan, CEO, CreditAccess Grameen, said, 'This policy shift will enable accelerated diversification within our operations, ensuring balance sheet stability and positioning us for robust cross-cycle earnings. The RBI has time and again introduced progressive measures that support the growth of the microfinance sector, creating a more inclusive ecosystem.'
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
MFI stress to remain steady in coming quarters: RBI's DG Swaminathan
Stress in the microfinance portfolio is expected to stabilise over the next couple of quarters, Swaminathan J, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said on Friday during the post-monetary policy press meet. Meanwhile, RBI on Friday relaxed the qualifying criteria for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) to be classified as Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). Under the revised criteria, NBFCs will have to maintain 60 per cent of their assets in the microfinance loan portfolio instead of the earlier 75 per cent. 'The entities predominantly in this segment have already identified, recalibrated their business models, and stepped up their collection methodologies. We have also seen a shrinkage of that portfolio due to this recalibration,' Swaminathan said, referring to MFIs. 'So, maybe over a period of time, over the next couple of quarters, this should stabilise,' he added, cautioning that much will depend on overall economic conditions and income levels, as MFI portfolios remain the most vulnerable segment. 'Q1 (FY26) is likely to see a peak in slippages. The various guardrails put in place by MFIN and Sa-Dhan are expected to benefit the sector in the long run. However, they will cause some short-term pain, which was necessary to clean the system. By Q2 or Q3, slippages should start to moderate. The only caveat is that MFI growth this year is expected to remain muted due to asset quality challenges coupled with slower growth,' said an official from a private bank. According to the CRIF High Mark report, the gross loan portfolio of NBFC-MFIs shrank by 18.2 per cent year-on-year to ₹1.8 trillion at the end of 31 March 2025. Experts said RBI's move to relax the qualifying criteria for NBFCs to be classified as MFIs will allow these companies to diversify into secured assets and continue growth, especially as self-regulatory organisations (SROs) tighten guardrails on the MFI portfolio. 'Reduction in the qualifying asset criteria for NBFC-MFIs shall improve their loan diversification, thereby augmenting their credit risk profile, and shall enable them to meet other credit requirements of their end borrowers,' said A M Karthik, Senior Vice President, ICRA. Ganesh Narayanan, CEO, CreditAccess Grameen, said, 'This policy shift will enable accelerated diversification within our operations, ensuring balance sheet stability and positioning us for robust cross-cycle earnings. The RBI has time and again introduced progressive measures that support the growth of the microfinance sector, creating a more inclusive ecosystem.'
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s budget woes could kill programs that help the city's most at-risk tenants
Long regarded as a critical supplement to the work done by city building inspectors, two community-based code enforcement outreach programs that target some of the city's most at-risk tenants could soon cease to exist as San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection looks to trim costs. Emails sent to about half a dozen local housing nonprofits on Monday informed them that the decades-old Code Enforcement Outreach Program, or CEOP, is facing complete erasure due to the city's budget woes. Among the supports offered by the nonprofits that receive funding through CEOP and the SRO Collaborative program, another DBI-administered initiative focused on residents of low-income single-room occupancy hotels (SROs) that's also at risk, are multilingual outreach, housing counseling and disaster preparedness services. In the past, the programs have united advocates representing landlords and tenants. And yet, both are on the chopping block under DBI's proposed two-year budget plan, which suggests cutting the department's annual $4.8 million allocation for the programs as Mayor Daniel Lurie seeks to eliminate $185 million in grant and contract spending in order to close a looming $800 million two-year city budget shortfall. 'We greatly value and respect the work we've done together, but any grant is dependent on having sufficient funding in our budget. As such, we are invoking the termination stipulation in Section 2.3,' a DBI representative said in the emails sent to nonprofit leaders on Monday, which the Chronicle obtained. The Chinatown Community Development Center, or CCDC, the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, the San Francisco Apartment Association, Dolores Street Services and the Housing Rights Committee, are among the groups that will be impacted by the programs' elimination. Monday felt like 'groundhog day' to service providers who, for the second time in two years, were told that the programs would be defunded. They pushed back against cuts planned by DBI in 2023 under then-Mayor London Breed, and were successful in getting the funding reinstated. Those interviewed by the Chronicle Tuesday said they were blindsided by the news, given that DBI's own commission recommended keeping the programs in place and fully funded earlier this year. 'We were shocked in 2023 and we are shocked this year, mainly because around February we were advocating at the commission as we were expecting about a 25% cut in total,' said Lisa Yu, a policy analyst with CCDC, a local affordable housing developer. 'Everything is in jeopardy.' DBI requested that the recipients of the code enforcement outreach grants 'plan for an end date for your services' on June 30. The move will impact an estimated 15 outreach workers across the list of nonprofits that are funding through the grants, the Chronicle has learned. 'The mayor talked about cutting some nonprofit contracts that emerged during COVID. But CEOP started in 1996. The collaboratives have been here for more than 25 years. These are programs that no one's ever had a negative word to say about,' said Randy Shaw, director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, a low-income tenant advocacy organization that stands to lose roughly $900,000 for its Central City SRO Collaborative program and CEOP. The funding cuts appear to thwart recommendations made by DBI's Building Inspection Commission, which penned a letter to the city's Board of Supervisors in March requesting that the code enforcement outreach grants be fully funded. That letter, obtained by the Chronicle, suggested that Lurie and the Board use general fund dollars to continue to support the programs, and that DBI could increase the inspection fees it charges across the board by 1.5% to 'compensate for the proposed General Fund reductions in support.' 'These providers go to the tenants as well as take complaints. Reduction in outreach services will not mean a reduction in need, it will mean more tenants leave inhabitable apartments and end up homeless or people will suffer health conditions as a result of uninhabitable housing,' the commission warned in its letter. Neither DBI nor Lurie's office immediately responded to the Chronicle's inquiries for comment on the programs' planned elimination. Last week, Lurie unveiled his $15.9 million budget proposal, which he said prioritizes the city's core services, including clean street and public safety. Declaring an end to what he described as the ' era of soaring city budgets,' his plan includes slashing 1,400 city jobs. The proposed cuts come as the city's revenues remain impacted by high commercial vacancy rates and sluggish tourism downtown. CEOP and the SRO Collaborative program were previously placed in jeopardy under former Mayor London Breed, who sought to patch a growing budget deficit in 2023 by ordering city departments to trim their budgets. The funding was ultimately restored, though the total allocation for the programs was reduced by 10%, according to Yu, of CCDC. She said that the nonprofit providers expected another 15% funding cut for the outreach programs. 'We're all really confused on what happened, because we weren't expecting a 100% funding cut when the issue was presented to the Commission in February,' Yu said. CEOP has received about $1.7 million from the total grant allocation, while the SRO program received about $3.8 million. The nonprofits that have historically received the funding are operating on five-year contracts that are due to expire next June. Yu said that CCDC runs the SRO Collaborative, for which it receives about $1.5 million in annual funding. It also receives about $272,500 for CEOP. 'We have housing counseling, and we provide fire prevention workshops. For home visits alone, we visit about 43 SROs in Chinatown with about 80 SRO families total,' Yu said, adding that the nonprofit assists about 86 clients per quarter with housing counseling services. 'About 183 tenants attended our fire and disaster preparedness workshops per quarter,' she said. About 16% of the Housing Rights Committee's total budget, or $617,000, comes from the DBI grant, according to the nonprofit's executive director, Maria Zamudio. HRC has long provided housing counseling and advocates for tenants rights in San Francisco. 'We provide language access to tenants who are not going to be able to just connect directly with a building inspector, or are not able to navigate the DBI website. We also ensure that there is support for (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) tenants, who have some of the most egregious habitability conditions in the city,' Zamudio said. 'In this political moment, with all of the attacks on immigrants and all of the attacks on HUD funding at the federal level, to feel those attacks locally and in a way that doesn't need to happen … really shows where the priorities for this new administration are,' she said. Tenant advocacy organizations aren't the only ones impacted by the proposed cuts. The San Francisco Apartment Association advocates for property owners on a 'shoestring budget,' according to spokesperson Charley Goss. The organization faces a funding reduction of close to $150,000 if the code enforcement outreach programs are cut. 'There are difficult decisions that have to be made with regard to the budget. But, from our perspective, these are maybe the only programs where you have tenant groups and landlord groups working together for a common goal, which is to improve living conditions in apartment buildings,' Goss said. 'We've seen firsthand that the programs work … and we believe they also save the city money. We have nonprofits doing the work to get buildings up to code, which saves the city money via their inspectors. The inspectors don't have to do that work.'
