Sales Tax

SALES TAX

Sales tax is a key component of revenue for Bosque county finances. It is also a factor in the property tax assessment calculation and can actually reduce it.

Sales tax is the second largest revenue item for the county and makes up about 8% of total revenue. Property taxes make up about 78% of revenue with all other categories of revenue representing less than 1% each.

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia levy general sales taxes that apply (with some exemptions) to all goods and certain services. Thirty-eight states (including, Alaska, which has no state sales tax) also allow sales tax at the local level. Most states apply separate sales taxes to particular goods, typically tobacco, alcohol, and motor fuels.

How much revenue do state and local governments raise from sales taxes?

States rely on sales taxes more than local governments do. States collected $412 billion—35 percent of own-source general revenue—from sales taxes in 2014 (figure 1). “Own-source” revenue excludes intergovernmental transfers. Nearly two-thirds of that ($272 billion) came from general sales taxes, and one-third ($140 billion) came from selective sales taxes (excise taxes) on tobacco, alcohol, and the like. Local governments, for their part, collected $105 billion—11 percent of local government own-source general revenue—from sales taxes in 2014, with $75 billion coming from general sales taxes and $30 billion from selective sales taxes.

BOSQUE COUNTY SALES TAX