White County Sales Tax Referendum Fails

A proposal to increase the sales tax in White County failed Tuesday.

The referendum would have matched the county’s sales tax to the city of Sparta’s sales tax rate of 9.75 percent. The vote failed 53 percent to 48 percent. A total of 1,077 voters cast ballots in the special-called election.

Elections officials called the turnout steady Tuesday after just 50 voters cast absentee ballots. 534 residents voted Tuesday.