JOPLIN, Mo. — Millions of dollars in revenue from an online sales tax in Joplin are beating early predictions.

The total for the city use tax for the last 12 months is $5.5 million, nearly two million higher than in 2022. Joplin voters approved the tax in 2021 to pay for an “action plan” addressing needs ranging from crime and homelessness to growing the economy.

“There’s a lot of work that will be going toward the action plans – and there are still several action plans that haven’t been started yet. So that’s what the use tax will go towards,” said Leslie Haase, Joplin City Finance Dir.

Joplin’s city use tax mirrors the sales tax customers pay in stores in town, which is about 3 percent.