Bill proposes sales tax increase
One tenth of a cent jump would raise money for maintenance at public universities.
State representative from Lawrence is against Douglas County raising the tax since people from all over the state use the University.
Thursday, April 5th, 2007
Sales tax in Douglas County may increase.
A proposed bill would allow Kansas counties with public universities to increase sales taxes by one tenth of a cent. The money from the increase in taxes would go towards deferred maintenance costs at public universities.
The current sales tax rate in Douglas County is 7.3 percent. 5.3 percent is federal tax, one percent is county tax and one percent is city tax. The bill would increase the total sales tax rate to 7.31 percent. Despite the increase, the county’s tax rate will remain lower than nearby Johnson County’s sales tax of 7.525 percent.
This is a state university and I think that everyone in the state has a responsibility to support it. There are students at the University of Kansas that come from every corner of this state.
- Rep. Paul Davis (D-Lawrence)
In 2006, Douglas County’s share of sales taxes totaled $5,075,543 according to the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office. Increasing the tax rate in 2006 would have earned the county an extra $5,075.
Sen. Marci Francisco (D-Lawrence) said that increasing sales tax in certain counties was a bad idea.
“They really are statewide institutions rather than county institutions,” Francisco said of state universities.
Francisco said that counties with community colleges paid an extra tax, but those schools usually served smaller geographic areas.
Rep. Paul Davis (D-Lawrence) agreed that extra taxes should be uniform among all Kansas counties or not exist.
“This is a state university and I think that everyone in the state has a responsibility to support it,” Davis said. “There are students at the University of Kansas that come from every corner of this state.”
Even if the proposed change becomes law, students shouldn’t notice much of a difference when shopping in Douglas County. A student who spends $7,000 in Douglas County would pay an extra $7 of sales tax under the proposed change.
A November 2006 report released by the Kansas Board of Regents determined that the University and the University of Kansas Medical Center require 284.7 million in repairs.
Kansan staff writer Joe Hunt can be contacted at jhunt@kansan.com.
— Edited by Jyl Unruh
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