Ozark County voters turn down internet use tax proposal

By a vote of  786 to 373, Ozark County voters Tuesday defeated a proposal to adopt an internet use tax that would have provided an additional source of revenue for the county's Road & Bridge Department and its general fund.

Ozark County Presiding Commissioner John Turner expressed disappointment Tuesday night. "I've never asked for the tax to be raised since I've been in office – and I still haven't asked for it to be raised," he said. "This is a tax you already pay if you buy something locally at the supermarket. If this tax had passed, you would pay it when you buy that same thing on the internet. So yes, I'm disappointed. We had planned on doing more extensive work to get it passed, but then the COVID thing came up. I think we'll probably try to bring it up in future with more education and, I hope, greater understanding, and maybe we can get it passed."

The unofficial election results released Tuesday night by Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise indicated that 1,159 total votes were cast on the issue, with 67.8 percent voting against the issue and 32.18 percent voting for it.

We'll have more details, including precinct vote totals, in next week's Times.