Use of Sales Taxes

When you purchase an item from a Miami County business, the sales tax you pay is divided among the state, Miami County and the city where the business is located. The same thing happens when you purchase an item from a business outside of the county and have it delivered to your location within Miami County. In many instances, major online retailers also collect sales tax for items sold on the internet. Those sales tax dollars are used to provide governmental services.

How Do The Numbers Really Add Up?

Miami County has 12,771 households. If each household simply shifted $20 of their weekly non-local spending to a Miami County business, it would generate more than $13.2 million in new sales at local businesses for almost $200,000 in new annual sales tax revenue. That equates roughly to a 0.5 mill decrease in property taxes.

The Louisburg School District has 3,522 households. If each household shifted $20 of weekly non-local spending to the City of Louisburg, it would generate almost $3.6 million in new sales at local businesses, creating almost $55,000 in annual city sales tax. That equals almost a 1 mill decrease in property taxes.

The Osawatomie School District has 2,424 households. If each household shifted $20 of weekly non-local spending to the City of Osawatomie, it would generate more than $2.5 million in sales at local businesses, generating more than $31,500 in annual city sales tax. Similar to Louisburg, that equals close to a 1 mill decrease in property taxes.

The Paola School District has 4,710 households. If each household shifted $20 of weekly non-local spending to the City of Paola, it would create more than $4.8 million in new annual sales at local businesses, creating sales tax in excess of $61,000. For Paola, that equals approximately a 0.75 mill decrease in property
taxes.

The Spring Hill School District has 4,675 households. If each household shifted $20 of weekly non-local spending to the City of Spring Hill, it would generate more than $4.8 million in sales at local businesses and almost $73,000 in annual sales tax. For Spring Hill, that equals nearly a 1 mill decrease in property taxes. (Source: U.S. Census)

Current Sales Tax Rates

Area	Tax Rate
City of Fontana	8.50%
City of Louisburg	9.50%
City of Osawatomie	9.25%
City of Paola	9.25%
City of Spring Hill*	9.50%
Miami County Unincorporated Area	8.00%

*Miami County portion of Spring Hill

A base portion of each of those rates, 6.50%, is returned to the state for its general fund and transportation expenses. Miami County captures another 1.5% which is primarily used for transportation-related expenses, construction of the jail, and some general fund uses. The remaining percentages are kept by the cities and used for various operations.

City Sales Tax Breakdown