News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
April sales tax revenues in Overton and White County increased over same month last year.
Overton County collected around $148,000 in sales tax, or about. $10,000 more than last April. Overton County Executive Ben Danner said the increase was not expected. But he said with so many at home, people may have spent money on DIY projects.
“There is a lot of home improvement going on and that is where a lot of our sales tax comes from,” Danner said. “A lot of people are staying at home and fixing things at home. That is where we are getting a lot of the sales tax from.”
White County saw an increase of $70,000 compared to last year. The county collected about $500,000 total. White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson said the county anticipated a small increase but was surprised by the total collected.
“The Covid situation with people staying at home more, they were doing more, they was doing more online buying,” Robinson said. “Due to the fact that sales tax is collected at the point of delivery now.”
Danner said property tax is the main driving force behind budget work. But, the increased sales tax still helps. Danner said sales tax for Overton County has doubled in the past four years allowing property taxes to remain steady.
“The sales tax helps the budget,” Danner said. “We have not raised taxes in over five years now, and that is the longest period since the 1970’s,” Danner said. “We have never went this many years without raising taxes, and the main reason is the sales tax has helped us.”
Robinson said White County can not depend on sales tax since the majority of stores are in the city. Danner said the county is prepared for another Covid shut down just in case. As Nashville and other bigger cities reopen, Danner said he expects to see a spike in cases and urges people to continue practicing social distancing.
