A 0.5 percent increase in the local sales tax to fund public education in Sampson County will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot for voters to decide.
The Sampson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously last week to give local residents the option of voting on the increase, which, if passed, would increase the local sales tax from 7 percent to 7.5 percent on goods purchased locally and become effective July 1, 2027.
The Sampson County Local Sales Tax for Education, passed by the N.C. General Assembly as part of Senate Bill 257, provides Sampson County commissioners the option to adopt a resolution calling for a sales tax increase between 0.25 and 0.5 percent to go before voters. The board voted for the proposed tax increase to be 0.5 percent.
Revenue from the tax would go directly to public education in Sampson County and could be used for school buses, construction of buildings and playgrounds, as well as other operating expenses. The revenue could also be used to pay education-related debt, such as debt incurred from school building construction.
Currently, the county has $104 million in debt obligations for the construction of high schools at Clinton, Midway and Union. County officials have noted that revenue generated from the sales tax increase, should it pass, would go toward paying down that debt.
County officials estimate the additional 0.5 percent sales tax would generate approximately $4 million a year. Unlike property taxes, sales tax revenue would also be collected from purchases made by people who do not own property in Sampson County, including those traveling into the county.
Last Monday, Commissioner Chip Crumpler spoke in favor of the increase, thanking state Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, for the part he played in providing the sales tax option to Sampson. He also encouraged voters to think about the children of Sampson County when voting in November.
“This would not be possible without Senator Brent Jackson and his work in the General Assembly,” Crumpler stressed. “I want to thank him.”
Crumpler went on to say that many people had expressed, publicly and privately, their desire to see a sales tax increase rather than another increase in the property tax rate. Commissioners voted in 2025 to raise the property tax rate from 62.5 to 68 cents per $100 valuation.
“That wasn’t an option then,” Crumpler pointed out, explaining how Jackson worked to get the education-specific sales tax option for Sampson County.
“The needs of the county are always going to be there,” Crumpler emphasized, adding, “The needs of the schools are not going to go away.”
Crumpler went on to urge the public to vote in favor of the sales tax increase when it appears on the ballot in November.
“This won’t be possible without the voters of Sampson County,” Crumpler stressed, adding, “Our children are worth half a penny.”
“I would encourage you to encourage your neighbors that this is an item worthy of our support,” Crumpler concluded, making a motion to adopt the resolution to place the tax increase on the November ballot.
Commissioner Thaddeus Godwin seconded the motion, and all five commissioners voted in favor of placing the proposed tax increase on the November ballot.
In a later interview about the sales tax increase, County Manager Allen Vann explained that the school building debt is currently being paid primarily with property tax revenue.
“If you wanted to generate the same revenue from property taxes, the levy would need to be increased 5.5 cents (per $100 valuation),” Vann explained, stressing that a sales tax increase would spread the cost beyond property owners to include purchases made by those coming into Sampson County as well.