Sales tax continues downward trend in county

Sales tax continues downward trend in county Staff Report Tue, 05/14/2024 - 3:32 pm Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Wednesday, May 8, he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts $1.2 billion in local sales tax allocations for May, 0.4% more than in May 2023. These allocations are based on sales made in March by businesses that report tax monthly and sales made in January, February and March by quarterly filers. Cities statewide received $788.7 million, up 0.3% from last May and up 1.5% for the year. In Jack County, both cities were down more than 20% for the month as opposed to May 2023. Jacksboro received $138,112.55thismonth, down 20.10% from May 2023 when the city received $172,868.38. For the year, Jacksboro has received $683,764.15, a 19.22% drop, compared to last year’s $846,476.89. Bryson is down 24.19% compared to this time a year ago, having received $7,084.80 this month as opposed to $9,345.72. For the yea r, Bryson has received $ 34,649.17, down 8.96% from a year ago where $38,063.04 had been received to date. April Sales Tax On Wednesday, May 1, Hegar said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.96 billion in April, 3.2% less than in April 2023. The majority of April sales tax revenue is based on sales made in March and remitted to the agency in April. “Monthly state sales tax collections fell compared with a year ago, reflecting a slowdown in spending even while employment and income continue to grow,” Hegar said. “A continuing downtrend in remittances from business-related sectors and a drop in receipts from the retail trade sector accounted for the decline. This trend in overall tax collections has been expected for some time now. “Remittances from the major sectors driven by business spending were all down last month compared with a year ago, as has been the trend this fiscal year. Meanwhile, receipts from the consumer- driven retail trade sector also came in below April 2023 totals, with receipts from most retail subsectors down. Receipts from online merchants, however, increased compared with a year ago, just slightly ahead of the rate of general inflation. “ Receipts from restaurants grew moderately, though at less than the inflation rate for food away from home.” Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in April 2024 was up 0.7% compared with the same period a year ago. Texas collected $468 million from motor vehicle sales and rental taxes, down 8% from April 2023. The state collected $332 million from motor fuel taxes, up 4% from April 2023. The state collected $518 million from oil production taxes, up 15% from April 2023. The state collected $170 million from natural gas production taxes, down 16% from April 2023. Texas collected $83 million from hotel occupancy taxes, down 1% from April 2023. The state also collected $164 million from alcoholic beverage taxes, up less than 1% from April 2023. Sales taxes are the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 57% of all tax collections, according to the comptroller’s office.