Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reports that the state’s sales tax revenue totaled $2.98 billion in November, 2020, which was 6.3% less than in November 2019.
For Lamb County, the revenue received by the five cities was better than last year’s, for this same period. They received a return of a combined total of $180,472.80, which is compared with the $142,725.30 they received for November 2019.
The City of Sudan had the greatest increase, with a return of $19,658.47, compared to last year’s $8,375.46 (a 134.71% increase). Sudan has received a total of $129,913.02 for the year to date, which is compared to the $81,908.40 (58.60%) it had by this time last year.
The City of Amherst received $2,058.48 for November, which is a decrease of -33.64% from the $3,102.26 it got in 2019. For the year, Amherst has received a total of $23,113,83, which is a -12.11% decrease from the $26,301.09 it had by last November.
The City of Earth received sales tax revenue in the amount of $9,113.66, which is a 20.09% increase over the $7,588.78 it got last year. Earth has received a total of $79,950.56 for the year, which is a 3.59% decrease from last year’s total of $82,929.87, in November.
Littlefield received a return of $127,659.57 for November, which is a 20.55% increase over last November’s receipt of $105,891.94. So far in 2020, Littlefield has received a total of $1,242,211.27, which is a 13.84% increase over last year’s total of $1,091,188.25.
The City of Olton received a return of $21,982.62, a 23.72% increase over the 2019 return of $17,766.86 for November. Olton’s total for the year so far, is $200,202.90, an 18.73% increase over the $168,617.62 it had by November 2019.
Over in Hockley County, the City of Anton received a return of $2,914.67, which is a -11.88% decrease from last year’s $3,307.66 return for November. So far, Anton has received a total of $31,473.24 for the year, which is a 24.26% increase over the $25,327.22 it had by November, 2019.
Comptroller Hegar explained that the majority of November sales tax revenue is based on sales made in October and remitted to the agency in November.
“November state sales tax collections continued the trends of recent months, with receipts down from a year ago in all major economic sectors, other than retail trade,” Hegar said. “Increased collections from retail trade reflected continued heightened spending for home improvements in response to the pandemic.
“The steepest declines were again in oil- and gas-related sectors, because well drilling and well completion remain depressed. Receipts from the information sector were also notably down, due to the federal ban on sales taxation of internet access service.
“With sales tax collection responsibility for online marketplaces and remote sellers now in place for more than a year, increased collections from online vendors reflected the pandemicaccelerated market share shift from in-store to online shopping. Receipts from restaurants remained down from last year, but significantly higher than in the early days of the pandemic, as restrictions have eased on in-person dining and consumers continue to embrace pick-up and delivery restaurant service.”
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in November 2020 was down 5.3%, compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 59% of all tax collections. While the effects of the COVID-related economic slowdown are less prominent than they were earlier this year, they continued to be evident in some sources of revenue in November 2020.
Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:
Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $414 million, down 1.9% from November 2019;
Motor fuel taxes —$325 million, down 0.6% from November 2019;
Oil production tax — $199 million, down 42.2% from November 2019;
Natural gas production tax $76 million, down 36.3% from November 2019;
Hotel occupancy tax— $33 million, down 46.1% from November 2019; and
Alcoholic beverage taxes — $96 million, down 19.1% from November 2019.
For details on all monthly collections, visit the Comptroller’s Monthly State Revenue Watch. For an extensive history of tax policy developments and fees since 1972, visit the updated Sources of Revenue publication.