Gonzales County sees sales tax decrease

AUSTIN — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced on December 2 that state sales tax revenue totaled $2.51 billion in November, which is 2.9 percent less than in November 2015.

“Continued weakness in the manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors, combined with persistently lower levels of oil and gas drilling activity compared to the same period last year, is exerting ongoing downward pressures on sales tax revenues,” Hegar said. “Receipts from restaurants and retail trade grew modestly. While those industries are larger individual sources of sales tax revenue, their modest growth was not sufficient to overcome the combined drop in tax collections from manufacturing, wholesale trade, and oil- and gas-related sales tax receipts.”

Gonzales County received $123,253.35 in Sales Tax Revenue last week, for year-to-date total of $1,851,885.27. In December of 2015 the county received $148,099.04 for a Dec. 2015 YTD of $2,829,25.79. This is down significantly from the $388,690.28 received in Dec. of 2014, bringing the Dec. 2014 YTD to $3,933,925.55.

The decrease in the county's Dec. allocation from 2015 to 2016 is 16.77 percent. The decrease from 2014 to 2016 is 68.28 percent. The YTD allocation decrease from 2015 to 1016 is 34.54 percent. The YTD decrease from 2014 to 2016 is 52.92 percent.

The City of Gonzales this month received $165,049.68, for a YTD of $2,145,384.18. In Dec. of 2015 the city received $191,924.24, for a Dec. 2015 YTD of $2,245,385.68. Recent revenue returns are down considerably from 2014 when the city received a Dec. disbursement of $265,859.70, for a Dec. 2014 YTD total of $2,902,267.81.

The decrease in the city's Dec. allocation from 2015 to 2016 is 14.06 percent. The decrease from 2014 to 2016 is 44.40 percent. The YTD decrease from 2015 to 2016 is 21.79 percent. The YTD decrease from 2014 to 2016 is 26.07 percent.

The City of Nixon received $20,068.49 this month, for a YTD total of $296,798.22. In Dec. of 2015 Nixon received $28,470.82, for a Dec. YTD of $653,417.32. The recent revenue returns are much less than they were in 2014 when the Dec. disbursement was $54,738.54, for a Dec. 2014 YTD of $724,958.54.

The City of Smiley just received a December allocation of $3,253.10, for a Dec. 2016 YTD of $225,184.72. In Dec. of 2015 Smiley received $4,026.79, for a Dec. 2015 YTD of $41,574.18. In 2014 Smiley's allocations were significantly higher, with a Dec. 2014 allocation of $6,488.28. The Dec. 2014 YTD was $46,894.95.

The City of Waelder just received an allocation of $4,404.94 for a YTD of $49,603.64. In Dec. of 2015 Waelder had an allocation of $4,873.45, for a Dec. 2015 YTD of $49,018.22. In 2014 Waelder's Dec. allocation was $4,030.17, for a Dec. 2014 YTD of $39,824.58.

Sales Tax Revenue allocations are based on sales made in October by businesses that report tax monthly, and sales made in August and September and October by quarterly filers.

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in November 2016 was down across the state by 2.2 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

Sales tax revenue is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58 percent of all tax collections.

Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes, motor fuel taxes, as well as oil and natural gas production taxes also are large revenue sources for the state.

In November 2016, Texas collected the following revenue from those taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $380.2 million, up 7.3 percent from November 2015;

• motor fuels taxes — $303.1 million, up 2.8 percent from November 2015; and

• oil and natural gas production taxes — $253.5 million, up 2.2 percent from November 2015. Note: Year-over-year severance tax revenue had been declining the last 22 months, with oil tax revenue declining the last 23 months.