By Rupert Howell

How much in sales tax do local municipalities receive back from the state in a year’s time?

For some, it’s a lot. Locally the City of Batesville received $3,987,518 as its share of the seven percent sales tax. That figure represents only about 18.5 percent of the total sales tax collected within the municipality. 

It’s all sent to the State Department of Revenue and they keep the remainder to pay for state debts and services and divert the municipalities’ share back the following month.

The Batesville figure reflects the approximate three percent increase experienced statewide, although most other local municipalities were not as fortunate.

Panola County municipalities received the following amount of disbursements during the state’s fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2013 through June, 30 of this year as follows, with percentage of increase or decrease: Como, $163,249, -6; Courtland, $14,309, -7; Crenshaw, $56,063, -2; Pope, $27,623, -36 and Sardis, $302,171, +1.

Other nearby municipalities received the following amounts for the state’s fiscal year: Charleston, $338,609, unchanged; Clarksdale, $2,787,889, -1; Grenada, $4,109,875, +1; Lambert, $32,170, -25; Marks, $236,060, +1; Oakland, $70,862; Senatobia, $2,074,162, +10; and Water Valley, $474,617, unchanged.

The city of Batesville also received $1,088,702 from their Tourism and Economic Development Tax that represents an annual increase of over two percent. 

Sardis received income amounting  to $93,824 for a similar tax that was almost the same as the previous period’s collection.

Senatobia’s noticeable increase in sales tax may be due to the legalization of alcohol sales in that municipality during the period which may also have contributed to Como’s decrease.

Como’s tourism tax which expired around the untimely death of Representative Joe Gardner, was reinstated by the Legislature during the most recent session and is being applied beginning in August.