First approved by Escambia County voters in March 1992, the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) places an additional one percent sales tax on most retail purchases in Escambia County. Voters supported extending LOST in 1997 and again in 2006. Each round of LOST is in place for 10 years with the current round expiring in 2017.
Unlike most revenue sources available to local governments, everyone in the County and its visitors contribute to LOST through the purchase of goods and services, however, not all purchases are subject to LOST. Necessary daily items like food, medicine, mortgage payments, house rental fees and car payments are exempt. Also, only the $5,000 of a single large purchase is subject to the one-cent tax.
Voter support of LOST since its inception has allowed the County to support much needed improvements to our community without significant increases to property taxes, which would shift the burden of the cost of these services to property owners.
A 2012 study conducted by the University of West Florida Haas Center estimated that out-of-town visitors pay approximately 25 percent of the sales tax collected in Escambia County each year, which means that approximately $9 million of the roughly $35 million collected last year in LOST revenue was not paid by County residents.
All revenue generated from LOST can only be used for specific projects authorized by voter referendum and ordinance, as governed by Florida law. Examples of the types of expenses allowed under LOST are: transportation improvements, including bridges and dirt road paving; sidewalk construction; drainage projects; sidewalks; enhancements to library and community centers; public safety improvements, including the purchase of emergency vehicles; development of recreational facilities; economic development infrastructure initiatives; protection of natural resources and improvements to County court facilities.
By the end of LOST III in December 2017, more than half of Escambia COunty Revenues, or more than $215 million, will be spent to construct new highways and drainage throughout the County. The Escambia County Sheriff's Office will benefit from LOST to the tune of $58.5 million, while investments in fire services and other public safety functions will top$62 million. More than $215 million will be used to build and maintain public facilities and more than $3 million will be used to support the court system.
