Oxford Special Taxes Top $900,000 in First Two Months of Fiscal Year

Oxford special taxes generated $905,688 during the first two months of the fiscal year, according to figures from the Mississippi Department of Revenue. The combined revenue from the city’s two special levies rose $79,542, or 9.6 percent, compared with the same period last year, when the total was $826,146.

The city’s larger special levy, the Oxford Stadium Tax, produced $743,145 over the two months, up 8.4 percent from $685,334 a year earlier. In August alone, the stadium tax brought in $370,710, a 16 percent increase over the $319,452 collected in August 2025.

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The second levy, a tourism tax on hotel and motel room rentals, generated $162,543 during the two-month period. That was 15.4 percent more than the $140,812 collected in the same stretch last year. August collections for the hotel/motel tax reached $75,583, up 21 percent from $62,329 in August 2025.

Together, the two special levies accounted for $446,293 in August.

A Tax That Is Not About Tickets

The Oxford Stadium Tax carries a name that can be misleading. It is not levied on Ole Miss athletic event tickets. Instead, the 2 percent tax applies to prepared food and certain beer and alcoholic beverage sales. Revenue from the levy is authorized for tourism promotion and stadium-related expenditures.

The hotel and motel tax works differently, applying to room rentals. Both levies fall on restaurants, hotels and other businesses that collect them.

Regular Sales Tax Diversion Adds $2.49 Million

Beyond the special levies, Oxford received $2.49 million from its regular sales tax diversion during the same two-month period. When that amount is combined with the two special taxes, the three revenue streams returned approximately $3.39 million to the city.

The figures cover the first two months of the fiscal year, which included August. The year-over-year comparisons show growth across both special levies, with the hotel/motel tax posting the sharper August increase at 21 percent and the stadium tax showing a larger two-month total at $743,145.