City hosting sales tax workshop

SANDPOINT -- Residents will have the opportunity  to quiz city officials about the 1 percent local option sales tax Thursday evening. 

The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. on March 24 in the council chambers at Sandpoint City Hall, 1123 Lake St.

"We have received a lot of questions from businesses and residents alike about when and what the 1 percent tax applies to and how it is remitted," said City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton in a press release. "This is an opportunity for us to provide an overview and answer specific questions and scenarios people are wondering about.”

Sandpoint voters approved the 1 percent local sales tax in November 2015, and it took effect at the beginning of 2016. It will remain active for five years.

"This tax is a point of sales tax, which, by definition, means the point where the ownership and possession of goods and services is transferred from the seller to the buyer," Stapleton said. "It applies to all taxable sales made by retailers within the City of Sandpoint, but also to taxable items purchased from retailers outside of the city limits but who are shipping or delivering the goods to an address within the city limits," Stapleton said.

Revenues from entertainment events within the city are also taxable under the rules of the 1 percent tax, even tickets a vendor sells online for the event, she said.

All revenue from the tax is earmarked for the restoration of War Memorial Field and replacement of the venue's Barlow Stadium, with any overflow applied to city park infrastructure.

Information on the tax: City of Sandpoint Finance Department, 208-263-8129

Information on the tax workshop: jstapleton@sandpointidaho.gov or 208-265-1493