Trenton Councilwoman Cathie Smith presented the program at the meeting of the Trenton Rotary Club, held on Thursday, Feb. 11 in the BTC Bank meeting room. Vice President Brian Upton presided. Dan Wilford gave the prayer and Chris Hoffman was the sergeant at arms.
Mrs. Smith discussed the use tax issue that will be appearing on the city election ballot in April. If approved, the city of Trenton would receive sales tax on items purchased online by Trenton residents. Those items currently are not subject to the city sales tax, while locally purchased items are. She said as more persons purchase items online rather than buying locally, the city is losing revenue that is being used to provide city services such as police and fire protection, street improvements, etc. Hundreds of cities and counties throughout the state are already receiving this tax, having approved the use tax assessment, which requires a simple majority. Approval of the tax will not increase the amount of city tax residents now pay; it would just assess the tax on the Internet purchases. It was noted the state would collect the money for the city and then disburse it, just like is now done with the local sales tax. The vote would not apply to the county, which would have to place its own issue on the ballot to have county taxes collected on Internet sales. The tax will be decided on the April 6 ballot.
The next meeting of the Rotary Club will be on Thursday, Feb. 18, with Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce Director Debbie Carman giving an update on Chamber activities.
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