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News Brief

Oct. 26, 2018Maryville, MO |  By: John Coffey

USE Tax would bring $245,000 to city

Maryville voters will be casting their ballots on November 6th on a local use tax proposal. Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel says the use tax is designed to capture money lost from on-line sales from out of town businesses such as Amazon and is not an increase in the local sales tax.

"The city of Maryville currently collects a 2.375% local sales tax on local purchases to support various initiatives approved by voters such as the general fun providing basic police and fire services to the community, capital improvements which include overlay, streets, sidewalks, and infrastructure, and recreation as far as Mozingo Lake Recreation Park and Maryville Parks and Rec.  This local sales tax supplies funds for those efforts and we are currently not collecting that sales tax from purchases online from out-of-state vendors.  And that loophole is closed if that use tax is approved for the community."

According to McDanel, Maryville's budget would benefit substantially if the issue passes.

"The department of revenue estimates that if the use tax is approved in Maryville, the city of Maryville would receive on additional $245,000 towards voter-approved initiatives again from only online sales for out-of-state vendors.  Currently $10 million is leaving our community to those purchases and so this would apply the local sales tax rate to those online purchases.  What that could mean is significant..  $245,000 is equivalent of 6 JC Pennies, 27 blocks of city sidewalk, 2 miles of overlay, or the expenditure and personnel for 5 police officers.  It's a significant volume of revenue that if the use tax is approved would be captured here for local efforts."

Communities in the region who have already passed a use tax include  St. Joseph, Stanberry and Tarkio.  A complete interview with Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel concerning the November 6th ballot issue can be heard  here:

 

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