Why I’m Voting No on the Essex Local Option Tax
Essex voters are being asked to consider three questions concerning a 1% local option tax (LOT). Before we add another tax, I believe we need to ask a basic question that has not received enough attention:
Who will actually pay it?
Lowering the tax burden is one of the priorities I have identified in my campaign for the Vermont House. That means looking carefully at every proposal that asks Vermont families to pay more, especially at a time when property taxes, housing, energy, food and other everyday expenses are already putting tremendous pressure on household budgets.
The LOT deserves that same scrutiny.
Essex Is Not a Regional Shopping Destination
There is a reason a LOT can be especially attractive to communities such as Williston, South Burlington and Burlington. They draw enormous numbers of shoppers, diners, hotel guests and other visitors from outside their municipal boundaries.
Williston is a particularly good example. Its interstate access and concentration of major retailers make it a shopping destination for people from throughout the region. Information presented in Essex Selectboard materials shows that Williston collected approximately $4.1 million in local option tax revenue in fiscal year 2025, including roughly $3.5 million from retail sales.
That model works differently when large numbers of people come into a community specifically to spend money there. Essex does not have that same economic profile.
We do not have the concentration of big-box stores, hotels, interstate-oriented retail centers or tourist destinations that draw customers from across Vermont and beyond.
That distinction is crucial because a municipality with a strong regional draw can effectively export a significant portion of its tax burden to people who live somewhere else. Essex has far less opportunity to do that.
Who Will Really Pay the Tax?
Based on the information discussed during the Selectboard process, my estimate is that the balance in Essex is roughly the opposite of what makes a LOT so attractive in a major shopping destination.
Instead of visitors and outside shoppers carrying much of the burden, I believe approximately 90% would ultimately be paid by people from Essex and only about 10% by people coming from outside the community.
That is the central problem.
If we were attracting huge numbers of tourists or regional shoppers who were contributing substantially to the tax base, this would be a different conversation.
But Essex residents buying goods and services in their own community should understand that they themselves are likely to provide the overwhelming share of this new revenue.
Essex Residents Will Still Pay the Tax Elsewhere
There is another misconception worth clearing up. Adopting a LOT in Essex will not somehow offset the taxes Essex residents already pay when shopping elsewhere. If you shop in Williston, South Burlington, Burlington or another community with a LOT, you pay that community's additional tax.
That will continue. Passing the LOT here simply means that Essex residents will also pay the additional tax when making taxable purchases in Essex. We are not replacing one tax with another.
We are adding another place where Essex residents pay it.
Essex Has a Competitive Advantage Today
Vermont's statewide sales tax is 6%. In communities imposing a 1% local option sales tax, the effective rate on taxable purchases becomes 7%.
Today, Essex retains that 6% rate. That gives our businesses a modest but real competitive advantage over retailers in neighboring communities that charge 7%.
One percentage point may sound insignificant until someone is purchasing furniture, appliances, electronics or another high-dollar item. It can also matter to businesses competing for customers across municipal boundaries.
Before giving up that advantage, we should be certain that doing so makes economic sense for Essex.
I am not convinced that it does.
The Shared ZIP Code Has Already Created Confusion
Essex also faces an unusual administrative problem. The Town of Essex and the City of Essex Junction share the 05452 ZIP code, even though they are now separate municipalities.
That matters because computerized point-of-sale and accounting systems do not always distinguish municipal boundaries correctly. Problems have already occurred involving businesses collecting a local option tax based on the shared ZIP code rather than the actual location of the business or transaction.
Creating another LOT jurisdiction inside the same ZIP code adds another layer of complexity to a system that has already caused confusion for businesses and consumers.
The LOT Is a Regressive Tax
There is also a fundamental question of fairness. A sales tax does not take a person's income into consideration. The person struggling to pay the grocery bill, heating bill or rent pays the same additional percentage on a taxable purchase as someone with substantially greater financial resources.
Vermont has mechanisms intended to provide income sensitivity for qualifying homeowners when calculating property-tax burdens. There is no comparable income adjustment for the LOT. Everyone pays.
That is one reason the regressive nature of this tax deserves serious consideration before voters approve it.
Another Tax Is Still Another Tax
Supporters can point to millions of dollars collected by municipalities such as Williston and understandably see another potential source of municipal revenue.
But revenue does not appear from nowhere. Every dollar collected by a LOT first comes out of someone's pocket.
The important question for Essex is not simply, "How much money can the Town collect?"
It is: "Who is going to provide that money?"
In a tourism center or major regional shopping destination, a substantial portion can come from people who live elsewhere. In Essex, I believe the evidence points in a very different direction. Much of the burden comes right back to the people who live here.
My Position
Lowering the tax burden cannot simply be a campaign slogan. It means examining proposals individually and asking whether another tax is necessary, whether it is fair and whether the people being asked to pay it can afford yet another increase. Essex families are already dealing with some of the highest costs of living we have seen. Property taxes are rising. Housing is increasingly difficult to afford. Energy costs remain a concern. Food, transportation and other necessities continue to consume more of family budgets.
This is not the time to casually add another tax. Essex is not Williston. It is not South Burlington, nor Burlington. We should not assume that a tax structure that produces substantial revenue for communities built around regional shopping, interstate traffic and tourism will work the same way here.
I will be voting no on the Essex local option tax questions, and I encourage Essex voters to take a close look at who will really pay before casting their votes.
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