By Rupert Howell
The town of Como is back in the tourism tax business and collected $2,694 during the first month, for July sales, after the tax was inadvertently dropped following the 2013 death of Representative Joe Gardner.

The two percent tax on food and lodging is made possible through a special tax approved by the state legislature. The city of Sardis has a similar two percent tax as does Batesville, a three-percent tax on food and lodging.

After the untimely death of Gardner in February of 2013, the tax was set to expire in June of that year. There was no time during the legislative session before a new representative could be elected who could begin the process of getting legislation passed to renew the tax.

During the same July period Sardis received $7,191 from the tourism tax, a 14 percent decrease from July of 2014.The City of Batesville received $97,381, a one percent increase from July  2014.

Batesville also received $345,742 from sales tax representing the municipality’s 18.5 percent share of the seven cent tax on all retail sales. That figure was three percent above the  amount received for July 2014. The city’s share is four percent above the amount received in the first two months of the fiscal year.

Sardis’ sales tax collections were up 17 percent for the same period with that municipality receiving $29,515. Year-to-date collections for the first two months of the fiscal year are up 12 percent.

Como’s collections for the same period were up 26 percent with that municipality receiving $14,926. Year-to-date receipts were up seven percent for sales tax.

Other Panola municipalities received the following amounts as their share of sales taxes collected and percentage of change as follows: Courtland, $1,599, -10; Crenshaw, $5,000, +14; Crowder, $1,865, -9; Pope, $3,436, +92 and Sledge, $1,676,  +2.

Other nearby municipalities received: Charleston, $27,544, -10; Clarksdale, $214,836, -7; Grenada, $360,654, +9; Lambert, $1,619, -12; Marks, $20, 011, +2; Oakland, $6,920, -7; Oxford, $640,954, +9; Senatobia, $188,872, +11; and Water Valley, $43,507, +4;

Statewide totals of sales tax diverted back to municipalities was up nine percent over last year totaling $37,362,307.