Local Option Sales Tax
Local Option Sales Tax is one of the primary sources of revenue for Blount County Government. For Blount County Government, it benefits Education, the County Highway Department, and County Debt (which is 90% education related). The following shows how Sales Tax works:
- State Sales Tax on most items or services is 7%.
- Local Sales Tax is 2.75%.
The State collects the entire 9.75% from local businesses monthly. The State keeps 7% and sends 2.75% back to Blount County. Half of the money sent back to Blount County goes for Education and is split based on WFTEADA (weighted full time equivalent average daily attendance) between Blount County Schools, City of Maryville Schools, and City of Alcoa Schools. The other half of the money goes back to its point of collection (local cities and unincorporated Blount County). An example is below:
EXAMPLE
If the State sends Blount County $2,500,000 in Sales Tax, it would be allocated similar to the illustration below:
| POINT OF COLLECTION (government of where the sales tax was collected) | COLLECTION |
| BLOUNT COUNTY (outside the cities) | $400,000 |
| CITY OF MARYVILLE | $1,000,000 |
| CITY OF ALCOA | $1,000,000 |
| CITY OF FRIENDSVILLE | $25,000 |
| CITY OF TOWNSEND | $25,000 |
| CITY OF ROCKFORD | $25,000 |
| CITY OF LOUISVILLE | $25,000 |
| TOTAL SENT FROM STATE | $2,500,000 |
| HALF OF THE TOTAL IS ALLOCATED TO EDUCATION ($1,250,000) | |
| BLOUNT COUNTY SCHOOLS (approx. 56%) | $700,000 |
| CITY OF MARYVILLE SCHOOLS (approx. 32%) | $400,000 |
| CITY OF ALCOA SCHOOLS (approx. 12%) | $150,000 |
| TOTAL ALLOCATED TO EDUCATION | $1,250,000 |
| HALF OF THE INDIVIDUAL TOTALS IS ALLOCATED TO POINTS OF COLLECTION | |
| BLOUNT COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPT. (Highway & Debt split $200,000 County portion) | $164,000 |
| BLOUNT COUNTY DEBT SERVICE (Highway & Debt split $200,000 County portion) | $36,000 |
| CITY OF MARYVILLE GOVERNMENT | $500,000 |
| CITY OF ALCOA GOVERNMENT | $500,000 |
| CITY OF FRIENDSVILLE GOVERNMENT | $12,500 |
| CITY OF TOWNSEND GOVERNMENT | $12,500 |
| CITY OF ROCKFORD GOVERNMENT | $12,500 |
| CITY OF LOUISVILLE GOVERNMENT | $12,500 |
| TOTAL ALLOCATED TO THE POINTS OF COLLECTION | $1,250,000 |