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A few more months until SPLOST kicks in

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com

Shoppers have a little more time to spend their money and retailers have more time to adjust their cash registers and computer systems before the Fayette County sales tax goes up a penny.

The increase in the retail sales tax from five to six cents on the dollar starts April 1, 2005, about five months after voters narrowly approved the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

The Citizen incorrectly reported last week that collection of the tax would begin Jan. 1, 2005.

The tax will raise nearly $116 million to help fund the county’s long-range transportion plan, a series of road projects slated to improve traffic flow countywide.

In a county government retreat in November, Public Works Director Lee Hearn laid out a timeline of June for when the funds would start becoming available and designated projects might be under way. The state collects sales tax from retailers and then returns the designated portion back to the local community, but the whole process takes anywhere from two to three months.

The tax is designed to automatically expire after the full amount is raised or five years, whichever comes first. Strong growth in retail sales in Fayette in recent years gives officials optimism the tax can end early.

Executive Assistant Carol Chandler said the start date was never an issue with the County Commission, either in talks about the SPLOST referendum itself or the transportation plan. It might have been mentioned erroneously at one of three public forums on the SPLOST hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

Consumers shouldn’t be concerned about the start date at all, Chandler said, other than the matter of a few cents.

Workers in the county tax office whose job it is to communicate to local retailers about the tax change will appreciate the extra three months, Chandler suggested.

Most retail mangers already have been notified, Chandler said, but officials felt obligated to give them enough time to reprogram computers and make other changes to their accounting systems after the holiday rush.