Newton residents may see a slight increase in the amount they pay at Wal-Mart this summer as the Board of Aldermen is weighing a 2-cent increase on real personal property.
In a meeting Tuesday, City Attorney Brian Mayo explained how the tax increase would work.
“This is on tangible personal property, so you go to Wal-Mart to purchase something, we’re asking the legislature to increase the tax on it by about 2-cents within the city,” he said.
Mayo said that 2-cent tax would come back to the City of Newton to be used on street, feature or recreational projects.
Previously, the board had considered adding a restaurant and hotel tax to raise funds for the city; however Mayo said the statute on restaurants and hotels made that an unlikely solution.
“The statute does read, unless they’ve changed something, which they haven’t, the population for the city where it goes to that special tax is 150,000,” he said. “We’re not anywhere close to that, so we’re gonna have to look at something else.”
A hotel and restaurant tax might still be possible if done through the legislature, Mayo said. However, the Board of Aldermen wanted to be able to spend the money on a wide range of city projects. The hotel and restaurant tax is limited in how the funds can be spent.
No action was taken as the board reviews its options. Mayo said he would continue researching both the sales tax and the restaurant tax to bring the board more information at the next meeting.
In other business, the Board of Aldermen;
•●Introduced changes to the water billing ordinance. Mayo said the ordinance was out of date with procedure and was being updated to reflect the city’s current practices;
●•Purchased a Christmas ad in The Newton County Appeal for $150; and
•●Approved paying an invoice from Carter Miller Sansing, LTD $24,300 for city hall renovations.
