At last Tuesday's, Kennett City Council meeting, during a discussion as to whether the city should continue to opt out of Missouri's annual tax-free holidays, the Executive Director of the Kennett Chamber of Commerce told council members the Chamber would implement a poll for members to take, expressing their opinions on the issue. Director Melissa Combs said she would gather the results and report back to the council.
In an e-mail sent to Chamber members on Tuesday, Combs said, "The Chamber of Commerce is conducting a poll on behalf of the city council to determine if the public would like to participate in the annual 'Sales Tax Holiday' that the State of Missouri hosts each year. Please click the link below to complete a confidential survey on the subject." The poll is now live, online, at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5KL2YV2.
Council members had originally asked the Chamber to conduct the poll among local Chamber business leaders. But Combs said the poll is actually open to the public, in order to capture a broader, community-wide perspective about the issue. The poll is broken down in such a way that respondents will be able to reflect their occupations and shopping patterns.
City leaders opted out of the tax-free holidays, when the Missouri State Legislature implemented the law in 2004, citing the loss of revenue. Several other southeast Missouri communities opted out, as well, including Malden, Poplar Bluff, Hayti and New Madrid. However, opinion is now divided, as to whether the city should rejoin the program. (Missouri runs two such holidays, one in April, for energy-saving appliance purchases, and one in August, for certain back-to-school purchases.)
For any additional information about the poll or the sales-tax holidays, contact the Kennett Chamber of Commerce, at 573-888-5828, or mlcombs@kennettmo.com.