Restaurant Tax Debate

COLUMBUS-LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Hours are ticking and the city of Columbus and Lowndes County are still at odds on the 2% restaurant tax.

Who gets it and who is in charge?

Columbus and Lowndes County have passed different versions for the 2% restaurant tax resolution.

There are many things the two can’t agree on, however, they do see eye to eye on wanting to change one thing, which restaurants collect the tax.

“Right now, the floor is $325,000 dollars, so any restaurant that does more than $325,000 dollars has to collect the 2% tax,” says Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President, Harry Sanders.

Sanders says the county version passed Friday, does away with that guideline best, because there’s no way to police it.

“It’s not fair that one group of people has an advantage over another group of people and so it’s just best to do away with the whole floor and just make everybody that sales prepared food have to pay the tax.”

Besides money, the city and county can’t seem to agree on how to select the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Board of Directors.

The county wants to keep the nine member board essentially like it is, except they want members to be chosen at large.

“In the original agreement, there were the restaurant association, a person from there had to be on the board, and a person from the historic homes had to be. Now, they’ve eliminated and it can be anyone,” says Lowndes County Board of Supervisors Attorney, Tim Hudson.

The county still wants four people from the city and four from the county to make up the board, along with a joint appointee, selected by the city and county.

“And one that we passed, would be a joint appointee of the mayor and the president of board of supervisors, and that’s the way it’s been the last ten years, and so it’s worked real good, and the board of supervisors, by a 3-2 vote, voted to keep it that way,” says Sanders.

On the other hand, the city version passed in November, changes the board make-up from nine members to seven; five from the city and two from the county.

The next step is for the city and county to iron out the differences and send a unified piece of legislation to Jackson.

“We have been told that the likelihood of it passing is very slim if we don’t agree.”

If the agreements cannot be reached, it is uncertain which, if any version, of the revised restaurant tax bill would be filed in the Legislature.

One thing is certain, Legislators cannot submit both to be considered.