Damnation By Faint Spending
By Mitch Berg
Bob Collins at NewCut notes the impact of the proposed Vikings Stadium tax on Ramsey County (Ramco):
The county has agreed to come up with $350 million, paid for with a half-cent sales tax increase. That puts Saint Paul, in particular, as the most expensive city to buy things in in Minnesota because it already has a city sales tax in addition to the state sales tax and the transportation tax.
He’s got the figures:
City or County Sales Tax
- Saint Paul 8.125%
- Minneapolis 7.775%
- Ramsey County 7.625%
- Hennepin 7.275%
- Dakota 7.125%
- Washington 7.125%
- Anoka 7.125%
- Carver 6.875%
- Scott 6.875%
It’s all mostly academic, of course; between the taxes and the Central Corridor and the blight, hardly anyone shops in Saint Paul anymore. If it weren’t for all the people tumbling out of the Xcel Center with their capacities all diminished, not much gets bought in Saint Paul but groceries.
“Oh, Berg, you’re just talking like a Tea Partier”.
Well, no – Collins notes it too:
A person buying a new car in Saint Paul (there aren’t many car dealers left in Saint Paul) would pay a sales tax of about $2,031 on a $25,000 car. Someone in Scott County, by comparison, would pay about $1,718.
Between Saint Paul’s idiotic housing policy, its stifling taxes and it’s moronic light rail construction, pretty soon the city is going to be like a cold Manhattan.
Only without the jobs and social life and money.
Maybe “cold Flint” is better.
May 12th, 2011 at 6:02 am
That’s why I bought my last two cars in St. Cloud and Buffalo respectively!
May 12th, 2011 at 7:47 am
There’s only one thing that can save St. Paul: Invest in public art. Look at what the Peanuts statues did for the city in the 90s. Contact Mayor Coleman, ASAP!
May 12th, 2011 at 9:15 am
I think you pay sales tax wher you live. I know in Wisc they do that and I think they do in Minnesota. So if you live in St Paul, you pay the high sales tax no matter where you purchase the car. Even if there are no car dealers in St Paul itself.
May 12th, 2011 at 9:17 am
Two more numbers:
10.56%. What the sales tax will be at liquor stores in St Paul.
5.5%. The sales tax on everything in Hudson Wisconsin.
May 12th, 2011 at 9:31 am
As a resident of Hennepin County, who got RAMMED by Convenience Conservatives like Laura (I proudly voted for the Twins stadium) Brod, I say:
GOOD! Let’s ram this one down YOUR thoats, Ramsey County!
May 12th, 2011 at 9:57 am
You pay the registration where you live, but I know that I paid the same sales tax as St. Cloud and Buffalo residents pay. In fact, I remember both of the sales guys pointing that out to me.
May 12th, 2011 at 10:04 am
You pay sales tax at the location that title transfers. If you had the Buffalo dealer deliver the vehicle to St. Paul, then St. Paul sales tax applies. If you drive it off the lot, then wherever the lot is applies.
May 12th, 2011 at 10:38 am
It’s no consolation, but other US cities have done equally loony things.
From “The Anti-Planner” http://bit.ly/mfkCrA
May 12th, 2011 at 11:17 am
And ordinary sales tax is paid at the location, not at the municipality.
May 12th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Isn’t Flint already pretty cold?
And no worries about buying cars in Pig’s Eye. Nobody there gets to work anymore, anyways. And if they DID have a job, they’d just take light rail there.
May 12th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Remember the “Yacht Tax”? 10% tax on yachts bought in the US for more than $100,000. Trouble was, of course, that ten grand more than paid for a trip to Anguilla (or whatever) where the purchaser could still buy a yacht, without paying the sales tax.
What it did was kill the niche in the US boat making industry.
Same thing, in miniature, here. It’s probably worth $300 to most folks to drive to Scott County to shop for a car; it’s pretty much guaranteed that a trip to any of the surrounding towns and/or counties that offer a lower tax rate (which is to say: all of them) would seem more attractive.
May 12th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
joelr…there was a boat manufacturer in Mora Minnesota that got killed by the “Yacht Tax”. Yeah, we showed them!
I repeat my beer tax. If, over the course of a year, I spend $700 on booze at Midway and Big Top liquor, The sales tax will be about $74. The same purchases at that nice liquor store in downtown Hudson will be $38.50. If you happen to be in that area anyway…..
May 12th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
I don’t care what the lege does; they can’t actually repeal the Law of Unintended Consequences. I’ll snark about it, like everybody else, but I really don’t think that this was intended to move trade outside of St. Paul and RamseyCo.
May 12th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
As I understand it, the car sales tax is the same regardless where you live. The local options don’t apply. See http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/ss/ssmnsltx.pdf
May 12th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Yeah, what Skipper50 said.
May 15th, 2011 at 7:04 am
I’m thinking hard – are there ANY serious car dealers left in St. Paul? Didn’t they all move to Roseville, Maplewood and Inver Grove? The only “dealers” left are used car jocks with a dozen used cars and a fish house office.
Good riddance. We ran those Mother Earth destroyers out of here. Gun dealers, too – there is no place in St. Paul to buy a gun (Joe’s was the last and it moved to Maplewood). Lawn mowers are next. Then we can ride our new train in smug knowledge how politically correct we are.