We all know that the tax on groceries has been reduced , saving the consumer money, in the long run. But, have you ever thought about how that is affecting county budgets? Sales tax on groceries and food ingredients dropped from 4% to 2% on January 1st in Kansas, resulting in an overall reduction between March 2023 and March 2024 of nearly 46% statewide, down from $24.8 million to $13.3 million. When combined with general sales, those collections showed a reduction of 5.2% March to March, to just over $276 million for the month. The food tax reduction, as well as the deletion of Anderson County’s sales tax that funded the county jail construction, still didn’t net a loss for the county sales tax collections in May, with the county actually collecting about $3,500 more in May 2024 compared to last year, netting $98,716 in sales tax overall last month. However, those impacts took an 18% bite out of Anderson County’s year-to-date sales tax collections, from $520,937 from January to May of last year compared to $426,644 for the same period this year. Garnett’s half percent tax netted a 2.1% increase month-to-month to $31,942. Year to date the city gained three tenths of a percent up to $142,755.
