Jones sales tax for March 2019 was down 7% compared to the same month in the previous year. Sales tax is collected when any purchases for goods are made within the official city limits of Jones. i.e. Any time you purchase a burger at Shuff’s or buy coffee at Johnny Pat’s, you are paying sales tax.
The current sales tax rate in Jones is 8.5%. Of those taxes, more than half (4.5%) goes directly to the State of Oklahoma. The town of Jones receives the remaining 4% of revenue to fund daily operations.
Part of the March sales tax check would include sales from January, which was in midst of the federal government shutdown. Just speculating, but many people in the local area may have been impacted by this national event. Even those who still had a steady income may have curbed their discretionary spending out of fear or caution.
The good news is that sales tax for the fiscal year overall is up 11% (over $60,000) from last year’s receipts, totaling $618,965 from July 2018-March 2019. Speaking to local experts, they are projecting that revenues received in April will bounce back. Later this week, I will post a blog about why sales tax is important for rural communities. Until then, I’ll give you some time to digest my fancy charts and graphs (thank you Microsoft Excel and the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s website). Might I recommend that you do so while eating some onion rings from Shuff’s (my personal favorite) or drinking a nice cup of joe from JP’s.
The Jones Journal 