Spring Break
Luxury tax may increase one cent
Sarah Dale Simpkins
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: News
The Starkville Board of Aldermen has made a request to the Mississippi State Legislature to add an additional penny to the Starkville luxury tax in order to raise funds for a conference center.
The current 2-percent luxury tax affects the food and beverage industry as well as hotels and motels. Luxury tax is added to the 7 percent state tax, making the current tax on Starkville meals 9 percent. It will become 10 percent if the action passes.
Whether or not the resolution is passed will ultimately be left up to the voting public as the board also requested a referendum (a public vote on the issue).
Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox said the requested resolution contained information on public facilities, but most importantly a Starkville conference center.
"[The center will be] something that will allow us to host events, whether it be for the university or community, because we don't have the space today and these type of conferences are having to go to the Coast or Tunica and in some cases out of state," Cox said.
He also said a conference center will attract people from all over North Mississippi, which will benefit local businesses.
"As you have these multi-day conferences, meetings and events, there will be more stays in our hotels, more people eating in our restaurants and more people shopping in our stores," he said. "There is real potential for economic impact."
Cox said the city has been approached by developers who would like to bring in big name restaurants and stores if a conference center is built.
He said he cannot disclose the "big names" because the planning is still in early stages.
"Some of the new opportunities are the type of names and businesses that students as well as members of our community have asked us to go out and get," he said.
All of the money collected from the luxury tax is directly reinvested into the Starkville community, Cox said.
"The first year [the luxury tax was added on] we collected and reinvested about $500,000 in the community," he said. "This year it is more than $1 million. You can look at it as a tremendous success."
The current 2-percent luxury tax affects the food and beverage industry as well as hotels and motels. Luxury tax is added to the 7 percent state tax, making the current tax on Starkville meals 9 percent. It will become 10 percent if the action passes.
Whether or not the resolution is passed will ultimately be left up to the voting public as the board also requested a referendum (a public vote on the issue).
Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox said the requested resolution contained information on public facilities, but most importantly a Starkville conference center.
"[The center will be] something that will allow us to host events, whether it be for the university or community, because we don't have the space today and these type of conferences are having to go to the Coast or Tunica and in some cases out of state," Cox said.
He also said a conference center will attract people from all over North Mississippi, which will benefit local businesses.
"As you have these multi-day conferences, meetings and events, there will be more stays in our hotels, more people eating in our restaurants and more people shopping in our stores," he said. "There is real potential for economic impact."
Cox said the city has been approached by developers who would like to bring in big name restaurants and stores if a conference center is built.
He said he cannot disclose the "big names" because the planning is still in early stages.
"Some of the new opportunities are the type of names and businesses that students as well as members of our community have asked us to go out and get," he said.
All of the money collected from the luxury tax is directly reinvested into the Starkville community, Cox said.
"The first year [the luxury tax was added on] we collected and reinvested about $500,000 in the community," he said. "This year it is more than $1 million. You can look at it as a tremendous success."
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