ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – On Jan. 1, anyone shopping in St. Johns County can expect to pay a little extra due to a half cent increase in sales tax.
Businesses have already been made aware of the increase from 6 percent to 6.5 percent.
Julie Jacobson, owner of DOS Coffee and Wine says the process of switching to the higher tax shouldn't be difficult. She also doesn't think it will affect her business.
"I hope it goes towards education and is seen and felt, but as far as a consumer making a purchase, I don’t think the change is significant enough for them to make a change in their purchasing because of it,” Jacobsen said.
Valerie Sharp, Owner of Cool and Collected Retro Perspective vintage store says she does not think the increase in sales tax will have a significant impact on the consumer’s purchasing habits.
"I think maybe locals that haven't heard about it may question it, but I seriously doubt it will have that big of an impact," Sharp speculated.
Sharp, says people visiting from surrounding counties are already used to paying 7 percent in sales tax.
Jacobson agrees the transition should be smooth, but may take some getting used to.
"It will take a little bit of time. Essentially with digital formats now, you can go in and make a sales tax adjustment and it should affect all your line items on the menu,” Jacobson said. “There's usually always a hiccup if you wire everything yourself, then there's definitely going to be a hiccup. I assume I'll take some sort of hit."
The Department of Revenue has a tax bracket list that breakdowns the tax consumers will pay based on the amount of the sale. They even compare the 6 percent and 6.5 percent to show exactly what the difference will be.
“The only impact I see is in our mind we have been calculating a certain percentage, so in our minds we'll have to adjust that. But we have calculators,” Sharp said.
News4Jax has posted a copy of the comparisons here.