Fountain Walmart at the center of tax dispute

A Southern Colorado Walmart near I-25 and Academy is at the center of a tax dispute. Some shoppers are saying the nearly 9% sales tax is too much.

“I think that is wrong. Somebody’s gotta do something,” said Felica Eggleston.

The tax being questioned is a 1% put in place by the Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority, or PPRTA, after the land was annexed in 2012.

“The total tax is 8.924%. Of that, city, county, and state is 7.88, and PPRTA is 1%. Plus, there’s a .5 public improvement fee,” Don Yucius, Fountain Finance Director explained.

“The program has been successful in our region. It’s taken care of a lot of really large crucial transportation needs, some major intersections and interchanges that needed to be built,” said Rachel Beck, PPRTA Spokesperson.

The city of Fountain says they don’t believe the 1% tax should be applied.

“Based on the city having their own transit system, PPRTA is technically not allowed to tax for their services because they will not be providing transit services to the area. the city of fountain will,” said Yucius.

“The PPRTA has conferred with our attorneys and the Department of Revenue, and their interpretation is if there is a a piece of land and it belongs to the unincorporated El Paso County, and there’s a tax on that property and then another government comes and annexes, that tax doesn’t go away,” said Beck.

With no resolution in sight, shoppers at the Walmart location will pay the 8.924% tax.

The city of Fountain, PPRTA, and their lawyers met in July to try to come to a resolution, but no legal action has been taken.