Ozark councilors discuss adopting local vaping tax; city must act by Oct. 1

During final comments at the Aug. 5 meeting, a councilmember raised a possible local vaping tax and outlined deadlines and options for action. The council member said state legislation now provides two choices: the city may adopt its own vaping tax ordinance or allow the state’s distribution method to apply. The council member said the city must act before Oct. 1 if it wants to adopt a local tax, and that the tax would not take effect until Aug. 1, 2026.

“That legislation passed an act, and we have until October 1 in order to incorporate one of two options, either incorporating our own vaping tax or just allowing the state to distribute the vaping tax,” the councilmember said. They said they plan to hold a conference with a consultant (“Avenue”) and with a staff member named Joe to collect questions and data before bringing a resolution or ordinance for council consideration.

The councilmember noted some uncertainty about how other cities are structuring their taxes and gave Lincoln, Alabama as an example discussed at the meeting; the exact numeric description offered in the meeting was unclear. The speaker said the city has to choose how to incorporate the tax before Oct. 1 and emphasized that the tax (if adopted) would take effect Aug. 1, 2026.

Council members did not vote on a vaping tax at the meeting; the councilmember said they would gather information and bring a formal ordinance or resolution for future consideration.

The discussion was recorded during the meeting’s final-comment period and produced no formal direction or vote beyond the planned information-gathering step.