Haas Center Study: Escambia County’s L.O.S.T. Has Generated $2.1 Billion In Economic Impact
Over the past 34 years the power of a single penny has not been lost on Escambia County citizens.
On four different occasions, starting in 1992, voters wisely have approved by wide margins referendums establishing and renewing the 1 cent Local Option Sales Tax.
The most recent approval came in 2014 when 65 percent of voters approved renewal of the LOST.
The year-over-year impact of that single penny tacked on to most taxable retail sales has been profound.
In a recent study conducted by the University of West Florida's Haas Center, from its inception LOST revenues have produced a whopping $3 billion economic impact, supported thousands of jobs and financed hundreds of important infrastructure and public safety improvements.,
The UWF's economic research center's report makes a compelling and clear-cut case for voters to approve a fifth 10-year renewal of the 1-cent levy that will appear on the November general election ballot.
The report also notes that annual tourism and visitors' spending throughout Escambia County accounts for up to 28 percent of all annual LOST revenues.
The Haas analysis further projects that if voters approve renewal of the penny surtax through 2038, Escambia County could see an additional $889.2 million – approximately $61.4 million a year – in available revenues that will help avoid shifting the burden of infrastructure and public safety funding needs to other sources such as ad valorem property assessments and special tax districts.
What's more, the study goes on to note thatapproximately 84.7 percent of LOST revenues are allocated on an annual basis to the county, 15.15 percent distributed to the City of Pensacola and a small fraction to the Town of Century.
For more than three decades the power of the penny has proven its worth, been embraced time and again by Escambia voters, fortified and replenished public safety services, improved parks and recreation facilities and financed major infrastructure improvements.
A pretty penny, indeed!
The University of West Florida Haas Center recently released an independent economic impact analysis of Escambia County's Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.), and the findings make a compelling case for renewal.
Key Findings:
According to the report, L.O.S.T.-funded projects completed between 2009 and 2028 generated a total economic impact of $2.1 billion for Escambia County
Projects funded with L.O.S.T. revenues are estimated to support an average of 4,200 local jobs.
Tourism and visitors share the tax burden alongside residents, with tourism and recreation spending accounting for up to 28% of taxable sales.
The analysis projects that if the surtax is renewed through 2038, Escambia County could see an additional $889.2 million in revenue without shifting the infrastructure funding burden to other sources.
