Debate continues over state’s desire to collect sales tax fees

An attempt to keep the state from charging cities and counties a fee for the collection of local option sales taxes failed Tuesday, but the issue isn’t dead yet. The legislature approved the fee last spring. Republican Representative Janet Metcalf of Urbandale tried, but failed, to put a hold on the fee Tuesday during a meeting of the Legislative Rules Committee. Metcalf says voters who cast ballots in favor of the tax felt they would get 100-percent of the tax.Metcalf says something needs to be done. She says enough questions have been raised that the legislature needs to take some action.State Senator Merlin Bartz says he’ll try to work out a solution when the legislature meets in January. Bartz says he’s made the commitment to try and come up with an agreement that could be addressed early in the legislative session.Bartz, who’s a republican from Grafton, says it’s a situation where nobody wins. He says there are legislators from both parties on both sides of the issues.Metcalf says the Department of Revenue and Finance wants the money to make up for a budget shortfall. If the Legislative Rules Committee doesn’t put a hold on the fee at its meeting in October, the Department of Revenue and Finance can begin collecting the fee and make it retroactive to July.