Oversight behind Demopolis sales tax holiday mishap

The City of Demopolis will not be participating in the sales tax holiday this weekend according to City Hall.

City Clerk Sam Gross said a clerical error is to blame.

“It was strictly a clerical error on my part, and we missed a deadline for submission,” said Gross. “I take full responsibility. I want people to know that the mayor nor council are to blame for this. It was a simple human mistake.”

Mayor Mike Grayson said that the sales tax holiday item was inadvertently left off the city council agenda, which resulted in the city not being able to notify the state by the deadline that Demopolis would be participating.

“This was an honest mistake by our city clerk. This item was inadvertently left off of the city council agenda, and that resulted in us missing the deadline to notify the state of our intent to participate,” said Grayson.

“We really do hate we missed the deadline this year, but we are proud to be a city that has participated every year that the holiday has been available in the past,” said Grayson.

While a three-percent city tax will still be collected, state and county taxes will be waived.

Some local businesses have stepped up and chosen to cover the city tax for their customers this weekend.

Southern Blessings, a local women’s boutique owned by Lori, Lane, and Teresa Eaves, is one of those businesses.

“We received a message from the city yesterday making sure we knew that the city was not participating in tax-free weekend,” Lori said. “We discussed it and decided to cover the city tax for our customers because we didn’t want that to prevent people from shopping local with us.”

Grayson said he appreciates those businesses who are trying to keep business local by covering the city tax.

“I appreciate all that those businesses are doing, especially since it is something they do not have to do,” said Grayson. “While we hate that this happened, this is what’s special about living in a town like Demopolis.”

The Alabama Sales Tax Holiday began today, and runs through Sunday at midnight. For a list of items exempt from sales tax, click here.

“We’re hoping other businesses will do the same and help us keep our money local this weekend,” said Eaves.