It’s only been a few years since Mojave County taxpayers finally exempted the quarter-cent sales tax that was being used as a sort of slush fund for Mojave County. The county had a quarter-cent sales tax for 20 years until 2019, most of which went to facilities and other buildings, most of which are in the city of Kingman. rice field. (I presume the tax revenue benefited the entire county in some way, but it’s hard to think of anywhere in the city of Lake Havasu, the county’s largest tax source, that tax helped.)
County officials hate expiring sales taxes and have repeatedly tried over the years to renew them or get another sales tax approved.
The final attempt was in 2021, but the county regulator voted against the plan after concluding that it had sufficient funds to operate without additional taxes that year.
That may not be the case this year, so it’s no surprise counties are bringing up the new sales tax outlook again. According to projections, Mojave County could face a budget deficit of $18.5 million in the 2025 fiscal year.
Of course, county officials are already proposing their favorite solution: a quarter-cent sales tax. They point out that between 40 and 60 percent of the tax will be paid by tourists visiting Mojave County, not residents, and will generate about $360 million over the next 20 years while stabilizing property taxes.
And this time, there is a growing push to use the sales tax to support the Sheriff’s Department and county jails.
Designating a new sales tax to aid law enforcement efforts could certainly be the right move for the county. We have repeatedly acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Department and county jails really need additional financial support in this area.
However, supervisors should not immediately say “yes” to this request, at least until all other options have been explored and current operations thoroughly reviewed to identify unnecessary expenditures and organizational inefficiencies. I hope
A new tax is the easiest and laziest way to solve budget problems. We hope our elected leaders and their hired representatives will be challenged to find more savings before reaching out to taxpayers again.
