City of Aurora Sales Tax Overview

Sales Tax Quick Facts:

  1. The overall sales tax collected within the City of Aurora is 9.225%.  Only 27% of the sales tax collected comes to the City; the remaining 73% goes to the State or to County entities.  Here is how it is distributed:
    1. 4.225% goes to the State of MO
    2. 2.5% goes to Lawrence County or is collected for County services, i.e. Emergency 911 Communications
    3. 2.5 % goes to the City of Aurora with the following divisions:
      1. General Sales Tax - 1% or 1 Cent.
      2. Transportation Sales Tax - .5% or 1/2 Cent.
      3. Capital Improvement Sales Tax - .5% or 1/2 Cent.
      4. Park and Stormwater Sales Tax - .5% or 1/2 Cent.
  2. Aurora's 2.5% Sales Tax compares to an average statewide Local Sales Tax of 3.762%*
  3. All City Sales Taxes
    1. Must be voted on by the City Council Members to be on the Ballot.
    2. Must be approved by a majority of the Aurora citizens by vote.
  4. The City increased the Sales Taxes in 2003 when the 1/2 Cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax was approved by a vote citizens of the City of Aurora to pay for the construction of a new Police and Fire Facility.  That sales tax for that use is set to expire at the end of 2023 and the debt for the Police and Fire Facility will be retired.
  5. In 2016, the Citizens of Aurora approved a 1/2 Cent Sales Tax for Park and Storm-water expenses.  When this sales tax passed, the Ad Valorem (Real Estate - Property Tax) for Park Expenses was eliminated, reducing property taxes for the Citizens of Aurora.
  6. The Capital Improvement Sales Tax that is expiring at the end of 2023 was placed on the ballot for reauthorization for the June 2, 2020 election and was reauthorized by an affirmative vote of the citizens of Aurora.  This 1/2 Cent Sales tax will be used for large projects and/or equipment when needed.
  7. Approximately 20% to 25% of the Sales Tax that is collected within the City of Aurora comes from non-residents or visitors to our community when they spend money in our community.  The result is that these non-residents and visitors greatly assist with providing money to pay for City Services.
  8. The City has chosen to have a higher sales tax in order to have lower property taxes for its residents; there is no taxes paid on personal property to the City of Aurora by its citizens.  These would be the annual personal property taxes paid on cars, motorcycles, boats and watercraft and numerous other items.
  9. The recent increases to the Sales Tax has been a result of sales tax increases approved by voters for Lawrence County or specific County wide services, such as Emergency 911 Communications Services.  These have increased twice since 2019.
  10. Sales Taxes in other nearby communities are: *
    1. Mount Vernon - 9.225%*
    2. Marionville - 9.225%*
    3. Pierce City - 9.85%*
    4. Verona - 9.225%*
    5. Miller - 9.475%*
    6. Monett - 9.975%*
  11. Sales taxes are the largest revenue source for the City of Aurora:
    1. 56% of the revenue the City needs to operate comes from Sales Tax.
    2. 44% of the revenue the City needs to operate comes from non-sales tax sources

* retrieved 6/12/2023 from https://www.salestaxhandbook.com/missouri

Sales Tax Discussion_Page_1Sales Tax Discussion_Page_2

Sales Tax Discussion Visual Overview Page 1
Sales Tax Discussion Visual Overview