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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Hendersonville may become the first city in the state to lower the grocery sales tax for residents.
Recent legislation passed by the General Assembly gives cities the authority to adjust grocery tax rates to exempt residents from the city’s portion of that tax. The state portion of that tax will remain at 4 percent.
Hendersonville passed a referendum earlier this year that would raise the sales tax from 2.25% to 2.75% for the next 10 years, providing additional income to help cover the costs of improvements to the city’s infrastructure.
However, if the new tax cut is approved, residents could see groceries eliminated from that increase.
“We were just in the situation where we had a referendum where voters increased the revenue that we’re getting from sales tax,” explained Mayor Jamie Clary. “This ordinance will cancel out the increase that we created by referendum. It will cancel out that increase just by groceries.”
Hendersonville’s city council was scheduled to discuss this potential tax relief in their Tuesday meeting. If it eventually passes, the change would likely be first seen in early 2025.
“We’re very proud to be the ones that pursued this through the general assembly, and we’re very proud to be the first ones who are considering it,” Clary stated.
Clary did express that, while this may alleviate some financial burden on city residents, it was unclear as to how exactly it will affect the city.
“It’s hard to really say that cities will benefit from this because you’re giving up income, you’re giving up revenue,” Clary said. “I’m constantly having to remind people that inflation isn’t just on what you are buying at the stores, it’s also what the city has to pay.”
