At roughly $15.6 million, sales tax collections in East Baton Rouge Parish in September were down 3.5% over collections of $16.2 million during the same month last year.
According to the latest monthly collections report from the city-parish Finance Department, collections were down both inside and outside the Baton Rouge city limits in September. However, year-over-year collections slipped more within the city limits, down by about 4.8%, while they declined by 1.9% outside of the city limits.
Of the $15.58 million total, roughly $8.9 million came from collections inside the city limits. Outside the city limits, collections were just under $6.7 million.
September collections inside the city limits were impacted by slower vehicle sales, which generated just $505,000 in taxes, down 23.4% from last September. Outside the city limits, collections on vehicle sales were down 4.6% at $541,800, compared to $568,000 last September. Taxes collected on vehicle sales are considered a more volatile measure of the economy than those collected on general sales.
Year to date, East Baton Rouge Parish sales tax collections—including those on vehicle sales—totaled $142.2 million through September, down 2.4% from the $145.7 million collected during the first nine months of last year.
