Hunt County approves resolution to claim existing cellular-service sales tax from state

Hunt County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution authorizing county staff to submit paperwork to the Texas Comptroller so the county can begin receiving a cellular-service sales tax that staff say has been collected from local customers but not remitted to the county.

The court’s action, taken during its July 22 regular session, directs staff to complete the documents the Comptroller requires so the county will be recognized as a recipient of the tax already appearing on residents’ phone bills.

County staff told the court the tax has been charged on some local cell-phone bills for some time, but the county had not been listed on the Comptroller’s website as a recipient. “A tax is already being applied and being paid,” a county staff member said during the discussion. “The state's been getting the money. So that's what the background of this all is.”

Judge Stovall, presiding, said he learned from a conference and his own bill that the county’s residents were being taxed but the county was not receiving the revenue. He and staff explained the resolution simply initiates the administrative process with the Comptroller so the county will begin receiving those funds.

The resolution was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The court did not specify an estimated annual amount in the discussion. Questions raised on the floor focused on the paperwork and how long the Comptroller’s processing would take.

No specific statutory citation beyond the Comptroller’s administrative procedures was read into the record at the meeting.

The county will return to its financial staff and the Comptroller’s office to complete the necessary forms and to track when receipts begin flowing to county accounts.