Poll: Thoughts on St. Louis County Sales Tax Pool
The City of St. Louis left St. Louis County in 1876 because it didn’t want to share its wealth with the rest of the county, now Chesterfield wants to do the same thing:
Frustrated by the lack of action by the state legislature on a proposed change to the St. Louis County sales tax distribution system that would let his and other cities keep more revenue generated within their boundaries, Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation is threatening that his city may look at steps that include seceding from St. Louis County and joining St. Charles County. (stltoday)
Responding to the idea of Chesterfield switching counties, officials from both counties dismissed the idea. The article also explains the sales tax system:
The tax pool system was set up in 1977. Municipalities were either designated “point of sale” cities allowed to keep the revenue from the one-cent tax or “pool” cities drawing amounts from a common fund according to population. The pool also includes the county’s unincorporated areas.
Chesterfield was required to be a pool city when it incorporated in 1988. In 1993, the Legislature required point-of-sale cities to divert some of their money from the tax to the pool. Of the county’s 90 municipalities, 57 are pool cities. (stltoday)
More detail on the change 21 years ago:
The system was modified in 1993 to require point-of-sale cities to divert money to the pool. Many leaders of point-of-sale cities have called it a bad deal ever since. The system was intended as a compromise between municipalities with big shopping centers and those without, all of which have residents who go shopping. Richmond Heights, home to the Galleria, is a point-of-sale city. Florissant and University City are in the pool. (stltoday)
Chesterfield isn’t alone, mayors from other “point of sale” cities want to keep all/more of the revenue generated within their municipal boundaries. The poll this week seeks to find out what readers think, if anything, should be done to the current system. The poll is in the right sidebar.
— Steve Patterson
Times change. Why should any city be locked into a formula from 25 or 35 years ago? And it cuts both ways – Chesterfield and Fenton have more retail than they used to, while Crestwood and St. Ann have less.