The City of Littlefield received a bump of more than 11 percent in sales tax collections remitted by the state in September, and now is almost 4.6 percent ahead of this time last year, according to figures released by the state comptroller.
Littlefield received $112,215 in September, compared to $100,836 for September 2020. For the year, the city is at $1,165,622, compared to $1,114,551 last year.
City Manager Mitch Grant said the increase is due to a variety of factors.
“It’s a lot of things,” he said. “Our stores are staying stocked, and a lot of it has to do with people coming from other towns and buying things here. People are keeping a good attitude.”
The city’s tax collections have been on the incline for a few years, Grant said, and the current increase is not just a rebound from a down year due to COVID-19.
The five cities in Lamb County total of $194,003.75 for sales tax revenue for August.
In addition to Littlefield, their returns were:
• The City of Amherst received $2,096.68, which is a 36.33% increase over last year’s $1,537.84 return. So far this year, Amherst has received $21,858.48, a 3.81% increase over the $21,055.35 it received by this time last year.
• The City of Earth received a return in the amount of $8,868.21, which is up 19.89% from last year’s $7,396.91. Earth has received a total of $79,728.16 for the year, so far, which is compared with last year’s total of $70,836.90, a 12.55% increase.
• The City of Olton’s return for this period was $18,336.38, a 9.38% increase over the $16,763.86 it got back for this period last year. Olton has received a total of $201,707.98 for the year, which is a 13.17% increase over last year’s total of $178,220.28.
• The City of Sudan received $15,658.31 for this period, which is a 62.64% increase over the $9,627.20 it received at this time last year. Sudan’s yearly total is $125,935.81, which is a 14.22% increase over the $110,254.55 it had received last year.
In Hockley County, the City of Anton received $6,541.68, a huge 148.14% increase over last year’s return of $2,636.19. This year, Anton has received a total of $47,078.56, which is a 64.84% increase over the $28,558.57 it had by this time last year.
At the state level, Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.15 billion in September, 22.3 percent more than in September 2020. The majority of September sales tax revenue is based on sales made in August and remitted to the agency in September.
Year-over-year increases for most tax revenues continue to be affected by base effects: Year-ago revenue collections to which this year’s collections are compared were suppressed by the pandemic. Compared to September 2019, sales tax collections were up 14.8 percent.
“September state sales tax collections rebounded sharply above last year’s pandemic-depressed level while strongly surpassing pre-pandemic levels as well,” Hegar said. “Tax receipts from all major economic sectors were up by double-digit percentages from a year ago, indicating vigorous spending by both businesses and consumers.
“Despite continuing shortages of building materials, chemicals, semiconductors and other critical inputs due to weather and pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions, receipts from the construction, manufacturing, and wholesale trade sectors rose sharply. Collections from the oiland gas-mining sector almost doubled from a year ago, as drilling activity continued to rise while still remaining substantially below pre-pandemic levels.
“Within the retail trade sector, rapid growth continued in receipts from big-box retailers, which grew strongly during last year’s shut-down period, while receipts from mall-based department stores grew moderately. Among more specialized retailers, the fastest growth in receipts was from clothing stores and electronics and appliance stores, as has been the case in recent months. Receipts from online general merchandisers continued to grow moderately from last year’s elevated levels. As a portion of alcoholic beverage consumption has shifted back to onpremise consumption at bars and restaurants since the lifting of pandemic restrictions, receipts from food and beverage stores have ceased to grow, though they remain above pre-pandemic levels.”
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in September 2021 was up 17.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago, and 14.9 percent compared to 2019. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 59 percent of all tax collections.
Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes, most of which were up sharply from a year ago due to base effects:
• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $547 million, up 21 percent from September 2020, and up 26 percent from September 2019;
• motor fuel taxes — $321 million, up 9 percent from September 2020, and down 1 percent from September 2019;
• oil production tax — $392 million, up 72 percent from September 2020, and up 17 percent from September 2019;
• natural gas production tax — $252 million, the highest monthly amount since October 2008, up 255 percent from September 2020, and up 155 percent from September 2019;
• hotel occupancy tax — $51 million, up 50 percent from September 2020, and down 5 percent from September 2019; and
• alcoholic beverage taxes — $122 million, up 56 percent from September 2020, and up 4 percent from September 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 our updated Sources of Revenue publication.