AI-assisted research summary: Geneva County may levy sales and use taxes for public school funding, but the proceeds must be used only for school purposes and the state revenue department collects and enforces the tax.
(a) In order to provide funds for the benefit of the public schools in Geneva County, the Geneva County Commission or other governing body of Geneva County is hereby authorized to levy and to provide for the assessment and collection of any sales and use taxes generally paralleling the state sales and use taxes in Geneva County or in any portion thereof as hereinafter provided, which tax or taxes shall be in addition to any and all other county taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized by law in Geneva County. Any such tax may be levied in Geneva County as a whole or there may be excluded from the levy of any such tax, in the discretion of the governing body, any sales or use which shall take place in any incorporated municipality in Geneva County in which the general administration and supervision of public schools shall be vested in a city board of education. Such governing body may, in its discretion, submit the question of levying any such tax to a vote of the qualified electors of Geneva County, or to a vote of the electors in any portion of Geneva County in which any such tax is proposed to be levied, and if such governing body submits the question to the voters, then the governing body shall also provide for holding and canvassing the returns of the election and for giving notice thereof. The referendum shall be an advisory referendum only. All the proceeds from any tax levied pursuant to this section, less the cost of collection thereof, shall be used solely for public school purposes in Geneva County, or in that portion of Geneva County in which the tax shall be levied and collected. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the governing body of Geneva County shall not levy any tax hereunder measured by gross receipts, except a sales or use tax which generally parallels, except for the rate of tax, that imposed by the state under applicable law. If such tax shall be levied in Geneva County as a whole or in any portion of Geneva County having more than one school system, the proceeds of the tax shall be apportioned among the school systems in the same relative proportion as funds received by such school systems from the minimum program fund of the State of Alabama are so apportioned. If the tax shall be levied in any portion of Geneva County in which there is but one school system, the proceeds of the tax shall be used only for the benefit of the one school system. (b) There are exempted and excluded from this section the same exemptions and exclusions applicable to the state sales and use taxes in addition to the entire gross proceeds of the sale of automobiles and farm machinery and equipment. (c) The proceeds from the taxes provided for herein shall be collected by the State Department of Revenue. The proceeds, less any costs of collection, shall be deposited without delay into the State Treasury to the credit of the County of Geneva to be properly distributed by the county as provided for herein. The amount deducted from the proceeds by the Department of Revenue for the cost of collection shall be an amount equivalent to five percent of the revenue collected hereunder. (d) The State Department of Revenue shall have the same authority to enforce this section that it has to enforce the state sales and use tax laws.