By Loretta Huff
Friendly reminder, these budget articles reflect Loretta's personal understanding and are not associated with her role as Vice-Chair of the Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee.
Continuing to look at Taxes as a key revenue source for the General Fund, the next largest source after Sales Tax is Use Tax.
Use Tax revenues for the General Fund are projected to be over $3.7 million for 2025. Use Tax as defined in the City Tax Code is “… the tax paid or required to be paid by a consumer for using, storing, distributing or otherwise consuming tangible personal property or taxable services inside the city.”
My simplistic description is that 3% Use Tax is collected when the 3% Golden Sales Tax would apply but was not collected and remitted directly to the City. One example provided in the 2023-2024 CITY OF GOLDEN BIENNIAL BUDGET document is that Jefferson County collects automobile use tax and remits those taxes monthly to the City of Golden. Businesses can choose to pay these taxes to Golden on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.
I find Use Tax fascinating so you can look forward to more detailed examples. For more interesting reading on Sales versus Use Tax, I recommend 3.03.030 (a) (15) and (b) (6) in the City’s Tax Code.
