Temporary sales tax
5 years
The proposal would add a 0.25% sales tax for a limited five-year period. That equals about 25 cents on a $100 taxable purchase.
Temporary proposal: 0.25% for 5 years
Tax & Financial Future Plan
A five-year plan to protect essential services while working to avoid a net tax increase.
St. Tammany Parish is considering a temporary 0.25% sales tax for five years. At the same time, local taxing agencies would be asked to reduce millages where possible so the new sales tax can be offset by lower property-tax collections. The goal is a more stable financial structure with a net-neutral impact for residents.
Property-tax offset
Reduce
Agencies would be asked to reduce millages to help offset the sales-tax increase. The purpose is to shift the structure, not simply add another layer of taxation.
Goal: reduce millage pressure
The public question
Why consider a new sales tax if the goal is net-neutral?
The current tax structure is heavily dedicated. Many dollars are already tied to specific agencies, districts, or purposes. That leaves limited flexibility for core public functions such as the Jail, District Attorney, Judges, Courthouse, and Parish Government operations.
What changes
The plan would change the mix of funding.
A temporary sales tax would create a broader revenue source connected to taxable purchases. Unlike property taxes, a sales tax is shared not only by residents, but also by visitors who shop, dine, stay, work, or do business in St. Tammany Parish. At the same time, millage reductions would be requested to reduce property-tax collections. Together, those two pieces are intended to balance each other.
Sales tax
0.25%
Millages
Reduce
Net impact
Target: neutral
What residents should know
The sales tax and millage reductions should be viewed together.
Looking only at the proposed sales tax does not show the full plan. The proposal is built around two actions: a temporary 0.25% sales tax and requested millage reductions. The question for residents is whether those two pieces create a fair, balanced, and transparent path forward.
Important: Net-neutral is the goal. The final impact depends on the actual sales-tax collections,
the agencies that participate, and the millage reductions that are adopted.
At the register
What does 0.25% mean on a purchase?
A 0.25% sales tax equals one quarter of one percent. The calculator below shows only the sales-tax side of the proposal. A resident’s full net impact would also depend on the property-tax offset.
Added sales tax at 0.25%
$0.25
Property-tax side
Millage offset
Example: a $100 taxable purchase would add about 25 cents before any property-tax offset is considered.
How the offset works
The goal is to pair the new sales tax with lower millages.
The proposed sales tax would bring in revenue from a broader base of taxable purchases. To offset that increase, agencies would be asked to reduce millages so property-tax collections are lowered where possible.
Temporary 0.25% sales tax
Creates a five-year revenue source tied to taxable purchases.
→
Requested millage reductions
Reduces property-tax pressure to help offset the sales-tax increase.
→
Net-neutral target
The plan is intended to keep the overall impact as close to neutral as possible.
Current vs. proposed
A 2024-based model of the plan
Using the 2024 numbers as a starting point, a 0.25% sales tax is estimated at about $17.9M per year. To make the plan net-neutral, that new sales-tax revenue would need to be paired with roughly the same amount in property-tax millage reductions.
Current structure
2024
Most tax dollars are already dedicated.
Property-tax structure
$407.4M
63+ property/ad valorem line items
Sales-tax distribution
$323.7M
23 sales-tax distribution lines
Available for core operations
$7.8M
Jail · DA · Judges · Courthouse · Parish Government
Under the current structure, many dollars are legally tied to a specific agency, district, or purpose. That leaves a small amount available for essential core operations.
Proposed plan
5 years
.25% Sales Tax / Millage Reduction.
Estimated annual sales-tax revenue
$17.9M
Based on 2024 0.25% sales/use tax collections
Estimated millage offset needed
6.83 mills
Approximate reduction needed to offset $17.9M using the 2024 tax base
Estimated funding gap
$18.3M
Finance outlook shows $34.4M in requests, $16.1M recurring funding
This model shows the basic net-neutral concept: the temporary sales tax would generate new revenue, and participating agencies would reduce millages by an estimated equivalent amount.
Sample distribution
What the current funding gap is tied to
The current funding gap is driven by the cost of public services and state-mandated responsibilities that must be supported through the Parish General Fund. The Finance outlook estimates $34.4 million in requests for these services, with about $16.1 million in recurring funding already identified. That leaves an estimated $18.3 million annual gap. The temporary 0.25% sales-tax model is estimated to generate about $17.9 million per year, helping address the gap while supporting the services residents rely on.
Eligible agency / function
Share of requests
Estimated amount
Sheriff's Office / correctional facility
22.9%
$7.86M
Coroner's Office & DNA Lab
18.8%
$6.48M
District Attorney's Office — criminal
16.9%
$5.82M
Justice Center courtrooms & offices
14.3%
$4.91M
22nd Judicial District Court & judges
10.6%
$3.66M
Department of Health & Human Services
5.2%
$1.77M
Agency support — Tech, HR, Finance
3.8%
$1.32M
Parish administrative departments / DA Civil
3.1%
$1.06M
Other mandated and public functions
4.0%
$1.39M
Total expenditure requests
100%
$34.4M
Recurring funding currently identified
—
$16.1M
Estimated funding gap
—
$18.3M
Outlook note: The figures above are based on the Finance outlook chart showing approximately
$34.4M in expenditure requests, $16.1M in recurring funding, and an estimated
$18.3M deficit. Amounts are rounded for public-facing display and should be verified before final publication.
Temporary 0.25% sales tax
$17.9M per year
−
Estimated millage offset needed
6.83 mills
=
Resident impact
Target: net-neutral
Offset math
How the millage offset is estimated
The 2024 taxable assessed value was about $2.624 billion. One mill equals about $2.62M on that base. To offset about $17.9M in annual sales-tax revenue, the model estimates an offset of about 6.83 mills.
Reduction
Estimated annual offset
Result
1.00 mill
$2.62M
Partial offset
3.00 mills
$7.87M
Less than half of target
5.00 mills
$13.12M
Significant offset
6.83 mills
$17.9M
Estimated net-neutral target
Modeling note: This uses the 2024 0.25% sales/use tax collection amount of $17,919,132
as the annual sales-tax estimate, and the 2024 taxable assessed value of $2,624,145,980 to estimate
the value of one mill. Final ballot materials should use the official revenue estimate, confirmed participating agencies,
and exact proposed millage reductions.
Plain-English summary
