Texas collected more sales tax in November, marking the eighth month in a row that receipts were higher than last year, Comptroller Susan Combs announced today.
Stronger retail and restaurant sales, and more purchases by manufacturers and the oil and gas industry, pushed November receipts from the state's 6 1/4 percent sales tax to $1.84 billion. That was an 8.7 percent increase over a year earlier, said Combs (above, Courtney Perry photo). The trajectory of the past three months was pleasing, "with recent gains above the five percent mark," she noted.
In other words, from April through August, there were gains over the dismal numbers posted in 2009. But they were microscopic gains, in no case higher than 2.2 percent above the previous year. In the fiscal year that began Sept. 1, the monthly increases over a year earlier have been 6.8 percent, 6.6 percent and now 8.7 percent.
That's all to the good. Every little bit will ease pressure on lawmakers to cut programs next session, as they face a two year budget shortfall of as much as $25 billion.
Still, sales tax receipts for the last fiscal year came in $1.5 billion under Combs' November 2009 budget-certification estimate. In the first quarter of this year, the state has collected $5.03 billion. Combs, though, estimated this fiscal year's total collections would be $22.5 billion. So after three months, sales tax receipts are about $600 million below where they need to be to hit her estimate -- meaning the state could be at least $2 billion off the mark for the full year.
That's why we continue to hear talk that revenues for this two year cycle could be short by some $4 billion or so: Sales tax was $1.5 bil short last year, could by $2 bil plus short this year. There are other taxes, of course. The sales tax, though, hauled in 56 percent of state revenue last year.
Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/state-sales-tax-revenue-up-87.html
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