Mercer Voters decide on PRAT Tax on Tuesday

MERCER, Wisc. — Town of Mercer voters will decide whether or not to pass a half-cent consumer tax to pay for roads and infrastructure spending in an Election Day referendum on Tuesday.  The question posed is a proposed Premier Resort Area Tax (PRAT) that Mercer is eligible to utilize as a municipality with at least 40% of its equalized assessed property value in use by tourism-related retailers. A tourism driven municipality at less than 40% must have a PRAT request authorized by the state legislature.  The PRAT is a consumer tax plan that is designed to share the burden of roads and infrastructure costs with the seasonal visitors and part-year residents that far outnumber Mercer’s population of approximately 1,445 residents.  Voters rejected a similar measure in 2019.