Sales tax renewal to go before voters in August

Voters in Jackson County will go to the polls Aug. 4 to decide whether to renew the county’s 0.4 percent special retailers’ sales tax.

The sales tax expires at the end of this year, and Jackson County commissioners originally proposed asking voters to approve a 0.5 percent retailers’ sales tax instead.

Before a county sales tax question can be placed on the ballot, it must first receive approval from the Kansas Legislature.

The proposed new 0.5 percent sales tax question was submitted to the state for approval, but the bill that would have granted the county that authority was never passed by the Kansas Senate.

County Counselor Todd Luckman discussed the issue with a representative from the Kansas Department of Revenue, and it was determined that the county could place the 0.4 percent sales tax renewal question on the primary ballot without legislative approval because it is a renewal rather than a new tax.

After discussing the issue during several recent county commission meetings, the commissioners agreed to do that. 

Funds generated by the special sales tax currently benefit the county’s road and bridge department, as well as cities within the county.

Because the commissioners were unable to propose a 0.5 percent sales tax, they decided that if voters would renew the 0.4 percent sales tax, the funds collected would only be used for road and bridge improvements. Funds will no longer be distributed to the cities.

Luckman said he would reword the sales tax question to reflect the change before it is placed on the ballot.

The sales tax was first approved in 2004 and currently generates about $600,000 annually for the road and bridge department — about $50,000 per month — along with an additional $225,000 that is distributed among cities in the county based on population, commissioners reported.

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