Greene County voters block use tax

Greene County voters shot down a proposed 1.25 percent use tax at the polls yesterday.

Of the 15,145 ballots cast, 8,486 voters, or 56 percent, voted against the measure, which would have instituted a county sales tax for residents who make purchases online or by mail from places outside Missouri, and for vehicles bought outside the state.

About 44 percent of the voters, or 6,654, voted in favor of the ballot measure dubbed Proposition A, according to the election results posted at GreeneCountyMo.org.

It's back to the drawing board for Greene County officials, who have said the proposed tax was intended to bolster the county's bottom line as it advances toward an expected $1 million in the red by 2017, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Voter turnout at yesterday's Greene County election was about 8.1 percent, according to the results.