Residents and businesses in Knox County, TN, are set to face a new financial hurdle come November 1. The county’s governing body has decided to levy a higher mineral severance tax, now pegged at 20 cents per ton. This uptick in taxation, as reported by the Tennessee Department of Revenue, will impact the extraction of various materials such as sand, chert, sandstone, limestone, and gravel.
The rationale behind this adjustment seems firmly rooted in the county’s economic strategies, although it might also significantly affect local companies involved in construction and landscaping, industries that regularly depend on these materials. According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the resolution, which was approved by the county governing body, clearly states that the new tax rate is to apply ” to all sand, chert, sandstone, limestone, and gravel severed from the ground on or after November 1, 2025.”
There has been no shortage of reactions from local stakeholders. While some residents see this as a means to generate additional county revenue that could potentially fund communal projects or infrastructure improvement, others express concern over increased project costs and economic fallout. The specifics of how the generated tax revenue will be allocated have not been disclosed to the public as of yet…