EBR sales tax collection up 2.4% for quarter

East Baton Rouge Parish sales tax collections are up 2.4% during the first three months of the year, showing that the Capitol Region is still holding its own in spending despite the national recession. According to the city-parish Department of Finance, nearly $37.9 million in sales taxes were collected through March, compared with nearly $37 million in the first quarter of 2008. Those figures do not include vehicle sales taxes, which have dropped sharply. Vehicle tax collections are down more than 19% for the first quarter, to $2.7 million. Auto sales have dropped severely across the United States because of financing difficulties and consumer worries about making big-ticket purchases during the recession. Once again, sales are up the most in the unincorporated areas of the parish, with $17.3 million in taxes being collected during the first quarter. That’s a 15% increase over the first three months of 2008. The largest share of sales tax revenue came from inside the city limits, but that was down 6.3% in the first quarter, to nearly $20.6 million.