Riverside changes agency that handles city income taxes

The city of Riverside has made the switch to a new agency to handle income tax collection.

The change will be final on Jan. 1, and all tax documents will need to be filed with City of Cleveland Central Collection Agency, or CCA, starting then.

In July, Riverside city officials decided to contract with CCA to administer its taxes. Riverside had filed with the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) for nearly 25 years, said City Manager Mark Carpenter.

Riverside taxpayers will file their 2019 tax return through CCA. Payments should be made to CCA - Division of Taxation.

Due dates will remain the same, and city tax code has not changed.

“Taxpayers need to realize that any questions they have about taxes or any tax documents they have need to be sent to CCA, and not RITA, after Jan. 1,” Carpenter said.

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Former Riverside mayor Bill Flaute said city council heard complaints from residents about RITA, prompting the search for another agency.

“We heard complaints about their forms. We heard RITA was slow to get back with people,” Flaute previously told this news organization.

Carpenter said the transition from RITA to CCA has been smooth.

“RITA has really worked with us and CCA to transfer everything over,” Carpenter said.

CCA also serves Clayton, Germantown, West Milton, New Carlisle and Union Twp. in this area. After Riverside leaves RITA, the only governments from the Miami Valley the organization will serve are Yellow Springs and Fairborn.

The two services are about the same price, said Riverside’s Finance Director Tom Garrett.

“Our hope is that the customer service will be a little better,” Garrett said. “We think they have very similar capabilities. I think it is a little bit easier for the taxpayer to get in touch with the agency with CCA.”

The city has also been working with CCA to schedule two days in February and two days in March for the organization to come to Riverside and answer any questions taxpayers may have or work with residents to fill out their tax forms, Garrett said.

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Nassim Michael Lynch, tax administrator of Cleveland, previously told this news organization that CCA representatives will be in Riverside regularly to help with taxes, especially during tax filing season. This is something Lynch and Flaute said RITA was not doing on a regular basis.

The city’s tax rate will stay the same.

Taxpayers must file a paper return if they are farmers, self-employed or rent out property. Taxpayers with more than one city listed on their W2 may also need to file a a paper return, Garrett said. A full list of restrictions is available on CCA’s website.

Taxpayers can get a CCA tax form in the city office building at 5200 Springfield Street, Suite 100, or on the city's website.

RITA charged a retainer fee for 3% of the city’s income and refunds the city at the end of the year. CCA will charge Riverside 2% of what it collected.

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