April shopping brings May tax allocations

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported that state sales tax revenue totaled $3.84 billion in May, 4.1% more than in May 2022. The majority of May sales tax revenue is based on sales made in April and remitted to the agency in May, the comptroller’s office details.

Total sales tax revenue, the largest source of state funding for the state budget that accounts for 56% of all tax collections, for the three months ending in May was up 5.6% compared with the same period a year ago. Locally, sales tax returns for Jefferson County showed an 11.28% increase ($3.408 million to $3.792 million) from the prior year in April’s returns and an 11.25% increase in year-to-date allocations, from $15.152 million to $16,858 million.

Port Neches, with a 1.5% sales tax, collected $259,760 for April, a 10.21% increase from $235,690 in the same period last year. For the first four months, the city has received $1.167 million, a 15.46% increase from $1.01 million.

Beaumont had a 4.38% increase ($4.819 million to $5.03 million) in April compared to the prior year. But the municipality’s year-to-date total shows a minus in a 3.48% decrease from $22.58 million to $21.79 million.

Port Arthur recorded a 2.63% increase in its monthly allocation, from $2.178 million to $2.235 million, but the city’s year-to-date allocations show a minus in a 0.35% drop from $9.622 million to $9.588 million.

Four cities, all having 1.5% sales tax, recorded a drop in sales tax allocations for April’s returns compared to April 2022:

•  Bevil Oaks: -9.25%, $9,212 to $8,334.

•  Groves: -6.84%, $260,155 to $242,348

• China: -3.84%, $10,753 to $10,340

•  Nederland: -1.45%, $609,711 to $600,829

Orange County

Orange County (0.5% sales tax) was up 12.88% from the same time last year, from $651,514 to $735,486. The county’s year-to-date total for 2023 shows a 7.46% increase from $3.008 to $3.233 million.

The city of Orange showed a 38.80% increase in its April allocation from last year, from $674,606 to $936,399. Also, the city’s year-to-date total rose 16.58%, from $3.02 million to $3.375 million.

Vidor’s April allocation increased 14.23% from the April 2022 total of $341,324 to $389,898. The city’s yearto-date amount is 3.44%, from $1.43 million in 2022 to $1.534 million.

West Orange’s monthly allocation was up 8.31% from 2022 ($119,451 to $129,389), and the year-to-date was up 5.83% from $582,313 to $616,301. The West Orange sales tax rate is 1.25%

All other cities in Orange County recorded a drop in the April allocations from 2022, three in double digits with a 1.5% sales tax rate:

•  Pinehurst: -14.97%, $63,465 to $53,587

• Rose City: -14.11%, $22,803 to $19,585

•  Pine Forest: -13.97%, $13,914 to $11,994

• Bridge City: -5.51%, $234,265 to $221,352

Hardin County

Sour Lake, with a 2% sales tax rate, had the largest increase in April’s allocations with 19.4% from 2022, up from $101,240 to $120,885. The yearto-date total for the first four months rose 17.4% from $478,483 to $561,749 – also the county’s largest increase.

In the April allocations, Lumberton increased 4.06% from $441,083 to $458,99, and Silsbee was up 1.89% from $359,396 to $366,211. Kountze’s numbers dropped -6.15% from $101,211 to $94,286. The city also posted a 9.11% drop in year-to-date amounts from $373,895 to $339,802.

Silsbee dropped 1.88% ($1.536 million to $1,507 million), while Lumberton was up 3.38% ($2.06 million to $2.131 million).