Neosho, Newton County, put use taxes on Aug 5 ballot
A use tax is a tax placed on purchases online from companies that do not have a physical presence in Missouri.
The rates would be the same as the existing sales taxes in those areas, 1.65% in Newton County and 3% in the city limits of Neosho.
The ballot language on both questions, listed as Newton County Proposition A and City of Neosho Proposition A, call the use tax an 'attempt to eliminate the unfair advantage enjoyed by out-of-state vendors over local vendors.'
The state of Missouri already charges a use tax on purchases at 4.225%, the same as the state sales tax. Joplin residents in Newton County have been paying a use tax rate of 3.125% since 2023. Voters approved it in the November 2022 election.
Newton County Sheriff Matt Stewart said the county use tax will be used mostly to fund moving sheriff's deputies and other county employees to the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System, or LAGERS, which offers better retirement benefits for county employees than the current system, known as the County Employee Retirement Fund.
'You know, it's OK but it's not the best,' Stewart said. 'And we want to be able to make sure we're offering a better retirement plan so that whenever deputies are done with serving their community they're able to retire comfortably. We want to make sure we're attracting the best employees we can get and we want to make sure we're retaining that talent, that professionalism by offering them this LAGERS plan.'
Stewart said the sheriff's office has seen high turnover in the past few years and many are leaving for either better pay or better benefits.
'We want to make sure we can try to address that benefits issue and offer them the best benefits package possible,' Stewart said. 'The use tax will primarily cover the move to the LAGERS plan and depending on the revenue it could also help pay for some other benefits like health insurance or things like that to help ease that burden on our employees. It can also be used to provide better pay if the money is available.'
In Neosho, Fire Chief Aaron Houk is leading the campaign for the city use tax.
Neosho voters rejected a use tax in April 2025 on a vote of 570 to 603. At that time, Neosho City Manager David Kennedy had estimated the tax would bring in $300,000 to $400,000 annually based on state estimates, and the revenue was to be used to build a water park to replace Neosho's aging swimming pool.
Houk said feedback from that election indicated voters didn't like the idea of the tax going to the water park so city has decided to put the money, if passed, toward improved salaries and benefits for police officers and firefighters and to make improvements to roads and bridges.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Voters in Neosho, Newton County reject use-tax propoals Tuesday
NEOSHO, Mo. — Voters in Neosho and Newton County rejected use-tax proposals in their respective jurisdictions Tuesday. Neosho residents rejected the plan, known as Proposition A, by a vote of 584 to 223, with more than 72% voting "no." Newton County residents rejected their plan, also known as Proposition A, by a vote of 1,665 to 846, with more than 66% voting "no." A use tax is a tax placed on purchases online from companies that do not have a physical presence in Missouri. The rates would have been the same as the existing sales taxes in those areas, 1.65% in Newton County and 3% in the city limits of Neosho. The state of Missouri already charges a use tax on purchases at 4.225%, the same as the state sales tax. Joplin residents in Newton County have been paying a use tax rate of 3.125% since 2023. Voters approved it in the November 2022 election. The county use tax would have been used mostly to fund moving sheriff's deputies and other county employees to the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System, or LAGERS, which offers better retirement benefits for county employees than the current system, known as the County Employee Retirement Fund. This was the second time in two years that Neosho voters rejected a use tax. They shot down a use tax in April 2025 by a vote of 570 to 603. At that time, Neosho City Manager David Kennedy had estimated the tax would bring in $300,000 to $400,000 annually based on state estimates, and the revenue was to be used to build a water park to replace Neosho's aging swimming pool. This time, the city proposed using the money, if passed, toward improved salaries and benefits for police officers and firefighters and to make improvements to roads and bridges. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
KFC and Pizza Hut U.S. challenged by ‘gaps in value perception'
You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter. Yum Brands reported second quarter results Tuesday before market and — once again — Taco Bell is doing the heavy lifting for the company's domestic business. Taco Bell U.S.'s same-store sales grew 4%, while KFC and Pizza Hut U.S. both fell by 5%, and Habit Burger & Grill's same-store sales declined by 4%. During the company's earnings call, chief executive officer David Gibbs said the KFC and Pizza Hut domestic businesses struggled from 'gaps in value perception.' KFC's performance marked its sixth straight quarter of same-store sales declines. The company is working to strike the right balance between innovative product launches and value through its new Comeback campaign, launched in response to market share loss to competitors such as Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, and Raising Cane's last year. Gibbs said Scott Mezvinsky, who was named KFC CEO earlier this year, has a 'compelling strategy on energizing the brand, enhancing relevance, and deepening engagement,' informed by his experience at Taco Bell, where he most recently served as president of North America and International. In global markets, KFC leverages successful product launches to modernize the brand, and we may see more of that trickle into the domestic market. For instance, the Korean BBQ Sandwich launch in Spain was recently introduced to additional European markets, while KFC's Kwench beverage lineup is also expanding its test to additional markets. Gibbs said KFC's Saucy concept, first opened in December in Orlando, Fla., is generating 'materially higher weekly sales' than the traditional KFC it replaced, and the company plans to add several more test units by the end of this year near the original location. 'Saucy is connecting with younger demographics and one-third of its customers are under the age of 30,' Gibbs said. 'We're eager to leverage invaluable consumer insights relevant to the larger KFC system.' For Pizza Hut, Gibbs said the chain's innovative launches, including Cheesy Pizza Bites and Ranch Lover's Flight, mixed well, but 'insufficient value messaging resulted in transaction weakness.' 'The team learned from this and going forward will establish compelling value propositions, including Wing Wednesdays and Tuesday $2 Personal Pan Pizzas,' Gibbs said. Pizza Hut also launched a new mobile app, which is expected to create a tailwind in the third quarter. The Habit's negative performance was driven by continued softness in consumer demand, Gibbs said, and the chain has improved its value offerings in response, including the launch of the Gotta Habit Menu. Taco Bell shines once again Meanwhile, Taco Bell outpaced the broader limited-service category by 4 percentage points, according to Gibbs. Much of this momentum has been driven by the creation of new occasions, a stronger focus on beverages, and Crispy Chicken launches, such as nuggets, tacos, and burritos. Total chicken sales at Taco Bell are up more than 50% in the past two years. 'We expect this momentum to continue as Crispy Chicken becomes a permanent platform in 2026,' Gibbs said. 'The momentum behind new occasions will also continue with shredded beef later this year.' Taco Bell also continues to work toward its aspiration of reaching $5 billion in beverage sales by 2030 with the expanded test of its Live Más Café concept to 30 restaurants by the end of this year. 'Beverages is one of those things we're incredibly excited about. Nobody is more naturally positioned to succeed in beverage than Taco Bell,' Gibbs said. 'Live Más Caféis putting a lot of our theories into actions in a big way. The results have been stellar and prompted us to lean in and be much more aggressive on beverages.' Taco Bell has also found its stride in value, including its $5, $7, $9 Luxe Box offerings. Gibbs said the chain is well positioned to thrive in the current value environment and has even recently gained market share from not just quick-service competitors, but also fast casual brands. 'We've had sales and (transaction) growth across all income bands at Taco Bell,' he said. 'If you take the top 10 restaurant companies that are publicly traded, Taco Bell is the only one that has had positive quarterly sales for five years in a row. This year, they haven't had a single negative week. Most people are reporting negative quarters, we haven't had a negative week. The brand is truly on a roll.' Contact Alicia Kelso at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pine Belt chooses Republican candidates for special election in MS Senate. See who won
In a surprising upset in the Tuesday, Aug. 5, Republican primary for the Senate District 42 special election, Don Hartness unseated incumbent Sen. Robin Robinson. In 2023, Robinson defeated Hartness in the Mississippi Senate District 42 race, winning with nearly 56% of the vote to Hartness' 44%. This time, Hartness won more than 70% of the vote in the three-person race that also included candidate RJ Robinson. A candidate needs to have 50% plus one vote to have the majority when there are multiple candidates in a primary. Otherwise a runoff election will be held between the two candidates who gained the most votes. In this instance, Hartness won far more than the minimum number of votes to win the primary outright. Since there are no opposing candidates for District 42 in the November special election, Hartness will take over the office from Robinson in January. In Senate District 44, Chris Johnson, the current senator for District 45, won a narrow victory over his opponent Patrick Lott, despite sparking a controversy earlier this year when he was accused of alienating the affection of a doctor's wife. Johnson received about 54% of the vote to Lott's 46%. Johnson will face Democratic challenger Shakita Taylor in November's special election. Results are unofficial until they are certified by the Mississippi Secretary of State's office. Here's how they voted: Senate District 42 Don Hartness: 4,246 votes or 70.7% Robin Robinson: 1,676 votes or 27.9% RJ Robinson: 84 votes or 1.4% Senate District 44 Chris Johnson: 2,282 votes or 53.8% Patrick Lott: 1,961 votes or 46.2% The special election was called after a federal judge ruled the 2021 redistricting plan was flawed. The legislative election held in 2023 was based on the 2021 district lines, following the 2020 Census. Those districts were challenged in 2022, and a federal court agreed that they diluted the Black vote in Mississippi. State lawmakers were ordered to go back to the drawing board to create new district lines in three areas of the state, with two centered on Senate districts and the third on the House of Representatives. The new plan was approved in May, and a special election was scheduled for November. The NAACP, which had filed the lawsuit challenging the redistricting, did not agree with the plans submitted for the Senate in DeSoto County nor the House of Representatives in the Golden Triangle, and appealed the three-judge panel ruling. The new plan for redistricting in the Hattiesburg area was not challenged. Other Pine Belt Senate races on the November ballot In addition to Senate Districts 42 and 44, the following races will also be on the November ballot: Incumbent Sen. Juan Barnett, D-Heidelberg, is running unopposed in District 34. Incumbent Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, is running unopposed in District 41. Hattiesburg attorney Anna Rush, a Republican, and former Hattiesburg mayor Johnny DuPree, a Democrat, are seeking the Senate District 45 seat. Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@ Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Hartness, Johnson win Republican primary elections near Hattiesburg
