Second Try for Van Buren County Tax

Residents of rural Van Buren County voted down a proposal, last month, to make a one-cent local option sales and services tax permanent.

The tax, which was implemented in 2003, is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2013.

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Voters will have another crack at the proposal as the presentation of a petition with more than 440 signatures has prompted to Van Buren County Board of Supervisors to schedule a special election for March 5, 2013.

Auditor Jon Finney says the vote would exclude anyone living in an incorporated city because the "penny tax" is already in place in each incorporated city.

Finney says the revenue generated by the rural portion of the tax is used to reduce property taxes.