Dateline: January 15, 2004

Sales tax rebates up sharply for communities

Local businesses reported increased sales last month, which helped drive a continuing recovery of the Texas economy, according to State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn

The City of Clarendon last week received a rebate of $19,384.14 for sales taxes collected in November 2003, an impressive 20.29 percent gain over the same period a year ago.

Hedley received a rebate of $420.67, and Howardwick got $753.04. Both figures reflect increases over last year.

“The state collected $1.25 billion in sales tax revenue in December, a remarkably robust 8.7 percent increase compared to December 2002,” Strayhorn said Friday.

“This is the highest sales tax growth rate in the 35 months since January 2001, when I first warned Texans that the state’s economic furnace would soon cool,” Strayhorn said. “An economic turnaround is now underway, and Texas has seen four consecutive months of sales tax growth.”

Since state fiscal year 2004 began on September 1, state sales tax revenue is up 4.7 percent compared to the same period in FY 2003.

“State sales tax collections hit a low point last summer, when July collections shrank 4.6 percent compared to the same month of the previous year,” Strayhorn said. “But in August, the decline was only half a percent. In September, sales tax collections grew by 2.1 percent. They grew by 3.6 percent in October, by 4.3 percent in November, and by an amazing 8.7 percent in December.”

Local sales tax revenue also continues to rebound statewide. Strayhorn sent sales tax payments of $203.9 million to Texas cities, up 6.9 percent compared to January 2003.

State sales tax revenue for December, and January sales tax allocations to local governments represent sales made in November and reported in December.