GOV
Transparency by the Numbers
Documents and resources that help make fiscal issues more transparent and provide information on their impact on City residents.
Bonds
The City of St. Louis uses bond issuance proceeds to build and improve city roads, recreation centers, and other critical public facilities and infrastructure projects. Bonds are also issued to refinance outstanding debt to reduce our interest payments and free up revenues to help fund government services.
See how GO Bond proceeds are being used:
Credit Rating
Investors in municipal bonds use credit ratings to assess creditworthiness. Credit ratings reflect the rating agency’s assessment of the likelihood of bond issuers paying investors as promised.
Recent City of St. Louis credit rating news:
- Fitch Affirms St. Louis, MO's IDR at 'A-' and Municipal Finance Corp. RBs at 'BBB+';Outlook Remains Positive
- Moody’s Issues A2 Rating with Stable Outlook for STL Airport Refunding Bonds
- Moody's upgrades St. Louis’ General Obligation rating to A3; outlook stable
- S&P affirms ‘A+’ rating on St. Louis GO Bonds; assigns ‘SP-1+’ rating to FY20 TRANs and affirms ‘A’ rating on long-term appropriation debt
- Fitch Ratings Issues Rating Increase for STL Airport Revenue Bonds
Earnings Tax
The City of St. Louis levies a tax of 1 percent of earnings for residents, and 1 percent of earnings for nonresidents for work done or services performed in the city.
Missouri state law requires the earnings tax be renewed by local referendum every five years. In April 2021, the earnings tax was renewed with 79 percent approval (Prop E).
In addition to St. Louis, many other U.S. cities levy income (earnings) taxes.
Prop P Sales and Use Tax
In November 2017, voters authorized the city to levy an additional 0.5 percent sales tax to fund public safety.
See how Prop P revenue is being used:
