Would you like to see a lowered tax bill?

Would you like to see a slightly higher grocery bill?

Robeson County voters will get the opportunity to choose, probably in August.

The Robeson County Board of Commissioners, in an attempt to gain the county approximately $1.1 million per year, has voted unanimously to ask residents to increase the sales tax from 7.75 per cent to 8 per cent. If the residents agree to this hike, they will in turn see a lowered tax rate, from 80 cents per $100 valuation to 78 cents per $100 valuation.

This means that property owners would lessen their annual tax bill about $18 per year, based on a home valued at $90,000.

If approved by voters, the sales tax would be increased from 7.75 per cent on most goods to 8 per cent. The tax on edible groceries would rise from 2 per cent to 2.25 per cent.

The Robeson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Feb. 1 to ask voters to adopt the sales tax hike in a special vote on August 3. The County Board of Elections recently certified that date for the vote. If the sales tax hike is approved by voters, it could not take effect until a year later, at the earliest, in August of 2011.