On March 23, 2020, the Grand Junction City Council approved Emergency Ordinance #4912. This Emergency Ordinance, a response to the COVID-19 emergency, will provide for an emergency refund and/or referral of sales, lodging, and use taxes collected in February 2020 which were paid to the City in March 2020.
“I think it sends a clear message of how outside the box thinking by our local government entities and our economic development partners are going to find ways to help our small businesses. To my knowledge, I think we are if not the first, one of the first cities in the state to actually state this action. So we have become a leader in those out of the box ideas,” says Diane Schwenke, CEO of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce.
The City estimates this will infuse $4 million back into the local economy. This is in order to give businesses more cash flow during what may be tough times for them. The ripple effect of these dollars staying in the local economy could be between $12 and $15 million dollars.
• Businesses that filed and paid, will need to specifically request a refund of that payment and agree to the terms of the deferment.
• Businesses that filed but did not include a payment will also need to actively request and agree to the terms of the deferment.
• Businesses that did not file or pay will need to file the return (so we know the amount) and actively request and agree to the terms of the deferment
An electronic form for businesses to request a refund of taxes already paid in March is available on the city’s website at https://gjcity.seamlessdocs.com/f/EmerRefund.
Payments will be deferred until July 31, 2020.
The City will be processing refund requests as quickly as possible. Businesses can expect a refund approximately one week after requesting. At this time the State and County have not decided to defer February 2020 taxes, this refund only applies to City sales, use