The Kitsap County Treasurer collects the property tax levied by the City of Poulsbo and remits it to the City on a monthly basis.  The property tax is recorded in the City’s General Fund.  City Council’s practice is to allocate amounts of property tax as below:

• 31% to the Street Fund to support operations and maintenance of the City’s streets
• 4.3%  to Park Reserves for capital projects
• 4.3% to Street Reserves for capital projects
• 14% to Street Reserves for capital pavement restoration projects.

In 2011 the transfers, with the exception of the transfer for street operations, have been reduced by 50% to leave operational dollars in the General Fund.

The State of Washington collects the 8.6% sales tax paid to vendors doing business within Poulsbo city limits and distributes the City’s portion (1%) back to the City on a monthly basis.  The sales tax is recorded in the City’s General Fund and is the largest funding source for this fund. The policy of the City Council is to not project revenue’s higher than actual dollars received the prior year.  Due to the slowed recovery of the economy sales tax projections will remain unchanged from the 2010 projections.

Sales Tax revenue is primarily used to support General Fund operations. A small portion (10%) is allocated to support other government functions as directed by City Council. The percentages established by Council are:

• 3% to Reserve Fund Balance
• 2% for New Capital Equipment
• 5% for Replacement Capital Equipment

In 2011 these amounts were reduced to leave more dollars in the General Fund for operations.

	Click here to see the current monthly Sales Tax Report
	Click here to see annual Sales Tax by Zone Report

Utility Taxes are taxes applied to utilities providing services in the City including City-owned and privately owned utilities. On the whole, these taxes tend to be stable from year to year.

The following are the different types of utility tax the City collects at a rate
of 6%:

• Electric Tax
• Natural Gas Tax
• Telephone Tax
• Water Utility Tax
• Sewer Utility Tax
• Solid Waste Utility Tax
• Storm Drain Utility Tax

Click here to view the Poulsbo Municipal Code
Click here to download the Utility Tax Remittance Form (PDF)

The remaining taxes are composed of various miscellaneous taxes that include admissions, excise, leasehold, and gambling taxes.

The largest of these, admission tax, is a 5% tax on qualifying admission charges, which the City began collecting in 1999. A 10-plex theatre in the City provides the majority of this tax revenue.

Leasehold taxes are taxes paid to Washington State on government owned land that is being leased or rented. A portion of the tax on these types of properties is disbursed to the City.

Excise tax revenue is a tax on the City's solid waste activities. The tax is charged by Washington State's Department of Revenue.

Gambling taxes are irregular in a community the size of Poulsbo. They tend to be an unstable source and their receipts are, therefore, forecast conservatively.