MORGANTOWN – A bill to allow counties to charge a 1% sales tax found unanimous support in the Senate Government Organization Committee Tuesday.
SB 550 has bipartisan sponsorship – two Republican and two Democrats. Imposition of the tax would require a public hearing and a majority vote of the county commission.
The tax could not be imposed inside incorporated areas and could not be applied to the sale of motor fuel or motor vehicles.
Representatives of several counties attended the meeting, but only Summer Barrett, representing the Berkeley County Council, testified. She noted that Berkeley County has a $2.8 million annual jail bill and its sheriff’s department handles more than 50,000 calls per year.
Interstate 81 runs the entire length of the county, she said, and there are six freeway exits offering opportunities for sales tax revenue, apart from two exits inside Martinsburg.
Barrett said Martinsburg charges a 1% sales tax under home rule and collects about $6 million per year with it. A county tax would support public safety, traffic enforcement and economic development activity.
There was no debate, and the bill passed in a voice vote. It goes next to Senate Finance.
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