At roughly $14.3 million, sales tax collections in East Baton Rouge Parish in February were up 3.25% over collections of $13.9 million during the month last year.
According to the latest monthly collections report from the city-parish Finance Department, released today, collections were strong inside the Baton Rouge city limits in February, while collections outside the city limits were down compared to last year.
Of the $14.3 million total, slightly more than $8 million came from collections inside the city limits, marking a 7% increase over collections of $7.5 million during February 2014. Outside the city limits, however, collections were down 1.5%, at $6.3 million this year compared to $6.4 million a year earlier.
February collections inside the city limits were aided by strong vehicle sales, which generated $1.2 million in taxes, up 3.6% over last February’s collections. Outside the city limits, collections on vehicle sales were essentially flat at $588,000. Taxes collected on vehicle sales are considered a more volatile measure of the economy than those collected on general sales.
Year to date, sales tax collections inside and outside the city limits—including those on vehicle sales—totaled $28.6 million through February, up 5.7% from the $27.1 million collected during the first two months of last year.
See the complete February sales tax collections report.
—Steve Sanoski
