by Trish Rudder
The Town of Bath received $55,000 in municipal sales taxes from its first quarter of 2025 that began January 1 and ended March 31.
That’s far more than town officials said they expected when they discussed putting the tax into place.
Last June, council members said they hoped the tax would bring in $60,000 to $90,000 in 2025. Tax collection has nearly reached the lower estimate, with three more months of collection to still be tabulated.
The town’s 2026-2027 fiscal year budget includes a line item of $60,000 in municipal tax revenue for the year, which begins on July 1, 2025 and ends June 30, 2026.
Bath councilman Greg Schene, who heads up the Ordinance Committee for the town said on Monday the first quarter that began in January was anticipated to bring in the least amount of sales tax since it’s the slowest quarter in the year, so $55,000 was about what the council thought the sales tax would yield.
Schene said he now thinks $250,000 for the year is a safe number.
“We have to see a full year cycle to get an idea,” but the town anticipates about $250,000 in municipal sales tax for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
With that figure coming in, the council will have “no excuse to say we don’t have the money” to provide what is needed for the town, he said.
The quarterly sales tax disbursements will be applied to the town’s “most pressing needs” in the areas of infrastructure, economic development and beautification as well as establishing a “rainy-day fund” for expenses caused by unexpected events.
“We want the Town of Bath to be one of the top five tourist towns in the state.”
Schene said when the sales tax went into effect, the town received “very few” direct inquiries from town businesses regarding exemptions to the tax, and those inquiries were forwarded to the West Virginia Taxation Division led by Kaitlyn Landes.
He said when he contacted the tax office by phone and email to follow up, “they did not provide any specific information on any existing issues.”
Schene said answers regarding exemptions are given directly to the business owners by the WV Tax Office.
“This is the protocol for all questions regarding the Municipal Sales Tax,” Schene said.
Kate Shunney contributed to this story.
