Columbia’s new public safety sales tax will brings sales tax rates to nearly 10% in all special taxing districts
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia City Council is scheduled to formally adopt a 1% public safety sales tax passed by Columbia voters in August at its meeting on Tuesday. The tax would then take effect on Jan. 1.
City leaders project the tax to generate an additional $38 million each year to support police and fire services. It passed by a mere 85 votes in August, with the first round of revenue expected to come in March.
The city monitor the first three months of revenue to see whether collections are meeting expectations. Across Columbia, sales tax will range from a little under 9% to nearly 10% after the increase.
The city has 19 special taxing districts, including multiple Transportation Development Districts, Community Improvement Districts and a Recreation Taxing District. Out of the 19 total districts, 15 are TDD's, three are CID's and one is a regional recreation district for the Boone County Fairgrounds.
According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, when added to current sales tax rates, areas of Boone County that aren't shopping centers or districts will have the lowest sales tax set at around 8.97%.
The highest sales tax rates will be seen in areas like the Shoppes at Stadium, Columbia Mall, or Discovery Parkway and Grindstone Plaza, with the transportation districts sales tax bumping to 9.97%. That means a consumer is paying nearly $1 on every $100 spent.
Downtown Columbia and the Business Loop area won't be far behind with the Community Improvement Districts now having a sales tax rate of 9.47%.
Each time a person buys something in one of these districts, the taxed percentage is going back to fund projects or expenditures in the community they may not even realize at the time of their purchase. For example, the Conley Road TDD helps fund the extension of the existing Business Loop 70 to be able to serve as an I-70 outer road through to a new connection to Conley Road near the Broadway Marketplace.
In 2025, Columbia's Downtown CID brought in $828,964 in sales tax revenue.
The highest sales tax rate in Missouri is at 12.23% in parts of St. Louis County.
With the funds generated by the tax, Columbia Fire Department plans to hire 42 additional firefighters, build two new fire stations and renovate three existing stations. The Columbia Police Department wants to boost its staffing numbers and convert a city-owned building on Lemone Industrial Boulevard into a new $35 million police headquarters.
