Recurring sales and use tax collections in July were up 1.71% from the same month a year ago for city and parish combined, according to the most recent General 2% Sales and Use Tax Report, with a 1.44% uptick in city-parish year-to-date collections.
Figures released Thursday show overall sales tax revenues totaled more than $15.9 million in July—an amount which, roughly on par with June 2019 revenues, contributed to some $111.6 million the city-parish accumulated in the first seven months of this year.
Most of the increase came from the parish, which reeled in $7.1 million in combined tax dollars for the month (+4.15%). Overall, sales tax dollars collected outside the city limits are up 2.83% from one year ago. Of that total, most ($6.5 million) came from non-vehicle sales taxes.
Sales tax revenue for the city, meanwhile, was down slightly in July from the previous year, declining 0.19%. Year-to-date, the city is seeing a modest increase through the first seven months of the year, up 0.39%.
“We’re on target and on budget for this year,” says Linda Hunt, city-parish finance director, noting sales tax collections comprise 59.5% of the general fund budget. “Utilities are down right now, retail and manufacturing are up—it depends what’s going on in various sectors.”
Local officials are also waiting to see the results of the Oct. 12 election, where voters will decide whether to incorporate the proposed City of St. George—which, if approved, will have an impact on the city-parish budget.
“We don’t keep figures in terms of where the growth really is coming from,” Chief Administrative Officer Darryl Gissel says. “Most major retail outlets, for instance, are within city limits.”
