Joint news release from 15 County Cities on Local Option Sales Tax

Joint news release from 15 County Cities on Local Option Sales Tax

(July 15, 2022) – Today, Fulton County Board of Commissioners asked the 15 Cities of Fulton County to increase the County's share of Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) from just under five percent to 35 percent, a 600 percent increase. This is a surprising request because in 2012, the County agreed to a negotiated percentage of less than 15 percent. Since that time, the County's service area has significantly shrunk from approximately 90 square miles to less than two square miles in which less than 1,000 residents live. In reality, the Cities provide essential services such as police, fire, and sanitation to nearly all the residents of Fulton County. Such a drastic shift in sales tax revenues, $95 million per year, will necessitate raising property taxes on nearly all Fulton County residents and businesses at a time when they can least afford it.

The 15 Cities are united in opposition to the County's position, but the Cities are willing to work with the County Board of Commissioners to reach a reasonable distribution of the sales tax. The L.O.S.T. is a one-penny sales tax that is used by local governments to pay for the cost of vital services such as fire, police, transportation, parks & recreation, and other local government services, which helps keep property taxes down for all taxpayers in Fulton County. The next L.O.S.T. Negotiations meeting will take place on Friday, July 29, 2022, at 10:00 am. During this meeting, the Cities will present their proposed distribution for L.O.S.T.