'Arch tax' faces smooth sailing, rough waters in various jurisdiction
t's fair to say that legislative bodies in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County have had decidedly different reactions to the proposal for a local sales tax for the Gateway Arch.
The initiative for the 3/16th of one-cent sales tax faced the least amount of resistance in St. Louis County – the jurisdiction that will provide the most revenue from the tax increase. It was voted unanimously out of the county council on Tuesday and has received kind words from St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley.
Tom Irwin, the head of Civic Progress, an organization of leading businesses, noted that funding for local parks could be a major incentive for St. Louis County voters to approve the proposal.
“They would get substantially more money both for county parks and municipal parks,” Irwin said. “Clearly, that is an attractive aspect to people. People like open space. They like preserved space. They like to recreate outdoors. So I think that the more you can provide people, the better off we are as a community. But clearly, St. Louis County would get a substantial infusion for parks – as would the municipalities.
https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/28978/arch_tax_two?coverpage=2579