Surges in the purchases of vehicles and other goods in the months after the August flood gave East Baton Rouge Parish a 5.6% boost in combined sales and vehicle tax collections last year.
According to the latest report released by the city-parish finance department, both the city and parish took in roughly $195 million combined last year—about $10.4 million more than in 2015 when $185 million was collected.
More than $19 million was collected in the city and parish for vehicle purchases. That’s up nearly 27% over 2015 when roughly $15.7 million was collected.
Combined sales tax collections, meanwhile, were up about about 3.7% last year, rising to $175 million from $169 million the year prior.
For the month of December, combined tax collections were nearly $20 million, a 12% increase year over year that was largely driven by the continued rise in spending on cars, trucks and SUVs.
