(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has reported that state sales tax revenue totaled $2.63 billion for March, 2021, which is 2.4% less than in March 2020. This amount, however, includes some revenue remitted in March that in normal circumstances would have been received by the state in February.
The five cities in Lamb County received a combined total of $149,115.40 for the month of March, 2021, which is an increase from the combined total of $128,931.89 they received in March, 2020.
Their combined total for the year so far is $470,645.83, which is compared with the combined total of $428,142.57 they had at this same period in 2020, according to the Comptroller’s report.
The City of Amherst received a March sales tax return in the amount of $1,750.70, which is a 5.90% increase over the $1,653.05 it received last March. Amherst’s total for the year is $6,711.51 which is compared with the $6,381.24 it had by this time last year. That’s a 5.17% increase.
The City of Earth’s return for March was $6.887.80, which is a 16.11% increase over the $5,932 it received last March. Earth has re ceived a total of $23,765.05 this year, which is a 17.19% increase over last year’s return of $20,278.22.
The City of Littlefield received a sales tax return in the amount of $114,719.64 for March, which is a 21.90% increase over the $94.106.02 it received at this time last year. For the year, Littlefield has received a total of $346,264.04, which is an 8.31% increase over last year’s total return of $319,689.71.
The City of Olton’s March sales tax return was $15,607.91, which is down by -3.59% from last year’s return in the amount of $16,189.98.
For the year, Olton has received a total of $55,253.13, which greater than the $47,991.46 it had received last year at this time. That’s an increase of 15.13%.
The City of Sudan’s sales tax return was $10,149.35, which was down -8.15% from the $11,050.84 it received for March last year. Sudan’s total for the year amounts to $38,652.10, an increase of 14.34%, over last year’s total of $33,801.94 for the year at this time.
Over in Hockley County, just across the line from Lamb County, the City of Anton received a sales tax return in the amount of $2,630.95 for March. That amount is a drop of -25.24% from the $3,519.55 it received last year. Anton’s total for the year so far, is $9,149.55, which is compared with the $9,260.12 it had last year. That’s a decrease of -1.19%.
According to Comptroller Hegar, “The majority of March sales tax revenue is based on sales made in February and remitted to the agency in March. This year, however, the Feb. 22 due date for state taxes and fees to be reported and paid was extended by one week, to March 1, due to the effects of the winter storm. After adjusting the March totals to account for March 1 activity, March sales tax revenue totaled $2.46 billion, down 8.6% from March 2020.
“Adjusted for the effects of delayed payments due to the late February winter weather disaster, March state sales tax collections continued to slump below levels of a year ago,” Hegar said. “Collections from all major sectors other than retail trade and restaurants continued to decline, led by depressed receipts from oil- and gas-related businesses.
“Some of the trends established during the COVID-19 pandemic continued, as remittances from online retailers, building materials stores and sporting goods stores continued to show strong growth over the previous year. Clothing and accessories stores and furniture stores showed declines, likely due to store closures caused by widespread power outages.
“Tax receipts from restaurants were up over the previous year’s levels for the first time since onset of the pandemic, but the increase reflects the first month affected by the pandemic, as restaurant activity began to slow in the latter half of February 2020.”
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in March 2021 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-19 pandemic continued to depress some sources of revenue, others are now exhibiting year-over-year gains when compared to a year ago when the effects of the pandemic had started to take hold.
Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes, some of which also were affected by the extension of the Feb. 22 deadline:
Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $467 million, up 20.2% from March 2020, but accounting for March 1 activity, total collections were $466 million, up 19.9% from March 2020;
Motor fuel taxes — $232 million, down 20.8% from March 2020, due to reduced driving during the winter storm in February;
Oil production tax — $237 million, down 22.4% from March 2020;
Natural gas production tax — $139 million, up 36.6% from March 2020, but accounting for March 1 activity, total collections were $138 million, up 34% from March 2020;
Hotel occupancy tax — $32 million, down 29.1% from March 2020, but after accounting for March 1 activity, total collections were $30 million, down 34.9% from March 2020; and
Alcoholic beverage taxes — $97 million, up 12.4% from March 2020, but after accounting for March 1 activity, total collections were $83 million, down 3.1% from March 2020.