December sales tax allocations for the area down from 2022

The year 2023 will end on a sour note when it comes to local sales tax allocations for Gonzales and the surrounding area, according to information released by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar.

December 2023 sales tax allocations for Gonzales County were down $59,279.98 from those made in December 2022, marking the fourth straight month the county has seen an overall decrease in sales tax receipts when compared to the previous year.

Hegar announced has sent cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts $1.1 billion in local sales tax allocations for December, 2.5 percent more than in December 2022.

These allocations are based on sales made in October by businesses that report tax monthly.

For the month of December 2023, Gonzales County municipalities received just a combined $301,940.50 in sales tax allocations, down some $59,279.98 or 16.41 percent below the $361,220.48 received during December 2022.

For the year, county municipalities have received $3,751,111.81, up $12,653.41 or just a third of a percent, above the $3,738,458.40 received through this time in 2022.

Sales tax allocations for Gonzales, the largest city in the county which generates the lion’s share of sales tax revenue, were $259,094.76, down $59,025.33 or 18.55 percent below the $318,120.09 received during December 2022.

It is worth noting that the $318,120.09 received in December 2022 was a record-high and the city had never before received that much in allocations, which could mean that last year was an aberration. The amount received in December was almost as high as the total amount received in November, which includes some quarterly tax receipts.

For the year, the city has received $3,181,478.47, down $63,677.61 or 1.96 percent, below the all-time record $3,245,156.08 received at this same point in 2022. However, the amount paid to Gonzales in 2023 is still the second-highest amount the city has ever collected up to this point in a year behind 2022’s allocation and marks only the second year ever the city has topped $3 million in sales tax receipts.

Waelder received a total of $11,658.65, up a healthy 28.05 percent or $2,554.22, above the $9,104.43 received in December 2022. For the year, Waelder has received a record $137,759.36, up $52,982.79, or 62.49 percent, above the former record of $84,776.57 the city received last year.

Sales tax receipts for Nixon were $28,847.65, down $2,517.93, or 8.02 percent, below the $31,365.58 received in December 2022. For the year, the city has received $394,937.01, up $21,051.75, or 5.63 percent, above the $373,885.26 received at this same point last year.

Finally, Smiley’s sales tax receipts were $2,239.44, down $290.94, or 11.06 percent, from the $2,630.38 received in December 2022. For the year, the city has received $36,936.97, up $2,296.48 or 6.62 percent above the $34,640.49 received at this point in 2022.

Three cities in Gonzales County — Gonzales, Nixon and Waelder — collect a 1.5 percent sales tax rate, while Smiley collects a 1 percent sales tax.

Gonzales County itself also receives a 0.5 percent sales and use tax and for the year, the county has received $2,621,679.38 — up 12.18 percent above the $2,336,959.96 received in 2022.