Sales Tax News - February 19, 2018

Tucson Considers Sales Taxes To Fix Local Roads

Officials in Pima County, Arizona are debating on whether or not to add an additional sales tax in order to fix the area's deteriorating roadways.  Estimates put the total cost of repair at nearly $1 Billion, which the current Road Property Tax cannot fully support.  At the moment, for any such tax to be passed, the County Board of Supervisors must unanimously agree to do so, which is unlikely given the highly polarized opinions on local tax structures.  New bills in the Senate are offering ways for the for the supervisors to put new tax questions on a ballot for voters to decide.  These decisions could be on the local ballots as early as November of this year. 

Sales Tax Collections Increase Local Grants

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts recently announced an increase in sales tax collections.  It is suggested that these tax collection increases are directly related to the recovery efforts related to Hurricane Harvey, as well as an increase in collections for local businesses.  As a result of these increases, the Cuero Development Corporation has announced increased funding for five area programs: the business retention and expansion program, the Main Street facade program, the community services program, the enterprise program, and the entrepreneur program. 

School Officials Delay Vote on Tax Increase