January sales tax allocations show declining November 2024 sales

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November sales tax receipts were down in 2024, meaning sales tax allocations for Gonzales County municipalities for January 2025 were down more than $12,900, a decrease of nearly 4.1 percent less than cities received last January, according to figures released by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s office.

Hegar announced he has sent cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts $1.1 billion in local sales tax allocations for January, 0.3 percent more than in January 2024. These allocations are based on sales made in November by businesses that report tax monthly.

Combined sales tax allocations for the month of January 2025 for all four municipalities were $305,212.56 — down $12,951.34 below the $318,163.90 received in January 2024 and a decrease of $14,071.12 from December’s combined sales tax allocation of $319,283.68, which was based on October 2024 sales.

As November is traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season, this decrease seems to track with a survey performed by WalletHub, in which 68 percent of respondents said Santa will be less generous in 2024 because of inflation, while about a third of respondents said they'll spend less on holiday shopping in 2024 compared with 2023.

Three of the four municipalities in Gonzales County — Gonzales, Waelder and Smiley — saw a decrease in sales tax allocations this month.

Gonzales saw a 4.36 percent decrease, or $11,838.83 less, in sales tax allocations for January 2025. The largest city in the county, which generates the lion’s share of sales tax revenue, received $259,493.32, compared to $271,332.15 in January 2024. This is $22,112.96 less than the $281,606.28 received in December 2024.

Sales tax receipts were up for Nixon, which received $33,943.26, up $2,752.51 or 8.82 percent more than the $31,190.75 received in January 2024. However, it is down from the $39,005.01 the city received in December 2024. Last year, Nixon was the only city to be in the black (have a positive increase) for sales tax allocations in the county.

Waelder received a total of $8,906.38, a decrease of $2,005.79, or 18.38 percent, less than the $10,912.17 received in January 2024 and $2,506.25 less than the $11,412.63 received in December 2024.

Finally, Smiley’s sales tax receipts were $2,869.60, down $1,859.23 or 39.31 percent, below the $4,728.83 received in January 2024. However, this is up from the $2,559.09 the city received in December 2024.

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 month of January 2025, the county received $173,903.80, which is $36,149.54, or 17.2 percent, less than the $210,053.34 received in January 2024 and $27,631.49 less than the $201,535.29 received in December 2024.

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