County sales tax allocations up by nearly 24 percent for July 2022

The city of Gonzales collected its highest sales tax allocation in nearly eight years, a good sign of a healthy, growing economy within Gonzales County.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced he sent cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $1.2 billion in local sales tax allocations for August, 10.8 percent more than in August 2021.

These allocations are based on sales made in June by businesses that report tax monthly and on sales made in April, May and June by quarterly filers.

For the month of August 2022, Gonzales County municipalities received a combined $3339,623.95 in sales tax allocations, up $73,178.13 or nearly 27.5 percent from the $266,445.82 received during August 2021 and up $31,397.32 or nearly 10.2 percent from the $308,226.63 received last month.

For the year, Gonzales County cities have received a combined $2,415,861.05, up $442,949.94 or 22.5 percent from the $1,972,911.11 received through this point in time last year.

Sales tax allocations for Gonzales, the largest city in the county which generates the lion’s share of sales tax revenue, were $291,879.05 — up $566,995.62 or 29.79 percent above the $224,883.43 received last August and $21,826.66 above the $270,052.39 received in July.

Gonzales’ best month ever in sales tax collection was December 2014, when the city received $296,859.70 in sales tax allocations, just $4,980.65 more than the city received in August 2022, which is the second-best ever total for the county seat.

“The funds the Comptroller sends to the City and Gonzales EDC during the month of July were collected at the point of sale during May,” said Jennifer Kolbe, executive director of the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation. “We had a couple of well attended events during the month, including the Main Street Cinco De Mayo event and the Texas Junior High Rodeo State Finals at the JB Wells Arena.”

Other contributing factors include the “several major capital improvement projects going on in the community” which have brought out-of-town utility contractors to Gonzales, Kolbe said. Among these utility projects are water and sewer line replacements by the city of Gonzales in addition to a Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) electric transmission line, which is being replaced.

Kolbe also noted there are “several commercial and home renovation projects under way throughout town, which contribute to an increase in sales tax from our home improvement stores.”

“Increased sales tax revenue is always welcomed news as it means we have revenue to invest back into the community through our grant programs or by spending the funds on public projects that benefit the entire community,” Kolbe said.

For the year, Gonzales has received $2,101,526.08, an increase of $430,248.99, or 25.74 percent, above the $1,671,277.09 the city received through this point last year.

Sales tax receipts for Nixon were $35,187.73 for August 2022, up $5,323.76, or 17.82 percent, from the $29,863.97 allocated in August 2021 and $5,719.04 above the $29,468.69 allocated for July 2022. For the year, sales tax allocations are up $13,933.46 or 6.17 percent with Nixon receiving $239,557.20 through eight months of 2022, compared to $225,623.74 for the same period last year.

Waelder saw sales tax receipts of $5,936.17 this month, a decrease of $2,931.17 or 33.05 percent below last August’s allocation of $8,867.34. For the year, the sales tax allocation are down 2.36 percent or $1,242.05, from $52,423.62 received through the first eight months of 2021 to the $51,181.57 received through the same period this year.

Finally, Smiley’s sales tax receipts were $6,621 this month, an increase of $3,789.92 or 133.86 percent above last August’s allocation of $2,831.08, and also $4,038.51 above the $2,582.49 received in July. For the year, sales tax allocations are up $9.54, or 0.04 percent from $23,586.66 at this point last year to $23,596.20 this year.

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