The City of Ashland saw sales tax fall for the fourth time in five months with the August reporting of the July sales tax collections.

The August report shows $15,724 collected, compared to $24,767 for the same time last year.

For the first four months of the city’s fiscal year, the City has collected $115,659, compared to $123,694 a year ago.

The City of Ashland collected $380,653 in sales tax in the fiscal year ending in April 2017, however, they are trending 7% down – which might have influenced last week’s vote by the Board of Aldermen to send an Internet “use tax” to the voters in hopes of getting more money for their general fund.

“This is money we should be getting anyway,” Mayor Gene Rhorer said before the Aug. 28 vote. Rhorer noted that many consumers were now purchasing common household items via the Internet and paying state sales tax, but not local tax.

~ Find out more in today’s Journal ~

By Bruce Wallace