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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor wants residents to vote yes to renew a half-percent sales tax this November. The Community Investment Tax was approved 28 years ago, but expires in 2026. If passed, existing sales tax will remain.
But if it doesn’t pass, the county’s sales tax may go down – and if that happens, Castor says the city will get its funding one way or another.
“We are going to have to raise property taxes, there will have to be an alternative source of funding,” Castor said.
For the last 28 years, the Community Investment Tax has provided over two and a half billion dollars to fund projects from new libraries to the construction of Raymond James Stadium. The tax is also used to fund projects for Tampa police, firefighters, and emergency management.
“We can show where every single penny of this funding has gone in the past, and ensure that the community can continue to trust us with their hard-earned money,” Castor said.
At a press conference, City Councilmember Luis Viera said he’s looking for the public’s support.
“If you want to defund the police, then vote no on this. You know why? Because it’s going to attack the police budget. It’s going to attack the fire budget. So please do everything you can to support this.” Viera said.
This is one of two tax proposals on the ballot in Hillsborough County. The other is a millage tax referendum from the school board.
Election day is November 5th.
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