Gainesville, MO. – The recent denial from the Missouri State Department of Revenue regarding Ozark County’s recently passed Law Enforcement Sales tax has been explained.
According to testimony from Travis Smith, the Missouri Representative over District 155, which includes Ozark County, and County Sheriff Cass Martin, it appears that the sales tax was denied out of a technicality.
Smith explained to us that the reason of this denial lies in the ballot language. The idea behind this sales tax was to add a half-cent tax onto an existing half-cent tax, which would cause the overall tax to reach it’s maximum amount. However, something in the language of the document was considered invalid by the Missouri Department of Revenue.
This means that while the vote succeeded for this tax, it will not be enacted, and will need to be voted on again in April with revisions.
Representative Smith stated “This is the reason I’m in Government. To fight the typical red-tape bureaucracy, and make it right. Everyone who is working and living in Ozark County care for each other, and it’s sad the state would force this technicality.”
Sheriff Cass Martin issued his own statement, which reads as follows: “When we were informed that the sales tax would be put on the ballot, our goal was to provide information to the community about the potential benefits of this tax. We aimed to show that the approximately $400,000 in revenue it would generate could be used to improve our community in meaningful ways. We believe we were successful to inform and engage with voters, and we are grateful to those who placed their trust in us by voting in favor of the tax, with a 2-to-1 margin.
However, we were shocked to receive word from the Department of Revenue that this new tax cannot be imposed. We have notified and discussed this issue with State Legislators and hope that the will of the people is heard and that this roadblock is overcome. We believe that this tax is vital to the well-being of our community and we will do everything we can to make sure it is implemented as the voters intended.”
Officials have gone on-record to state that without this sales tax, ability to maintain law enforcement in the county will diminish, leaving only a handful of officers to patrol one of the largest counties in the state.
