On Thursday, May 1st, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the sales tax revenue for April 2025, which totaled $4.24 billion. This represents a 7.1% increase compared to April 2024. It’s important to note that most of the sales tax revenue collected in April is based on sales made in March and remitted to the agency in April.
In the City of Brownfield, revenue has increased significantly, totaling $165,663.32, which is a rise of 24.75% compared to $132,790.88 from the same time last year in 2024. Additionally, year-to-date revenue has grown by 13.30%, reaching $640,308.47, up from $565,116.87 at this time last year.On the other hand, Terry County has experienced a decline of 5.74%, bringing in $52,930.65 compared to $56,157.85 from the previous year. Despite this year-over-year decrease, the county’s year-to-date revenue is up by 2.08%, totaling $254,874.42, the same amount as last year.
The City of Meadow experienced a significant decline in sales tax revenue, collecting 24.28% less this year, totaling $1,249.08 compared to $1,651.79 at the same time last year. Additionally, its year-to-date revenue has decreased by 7.16%, dropping from $7,780.60 to $7,223.18.Similarly, the City of Wellman also reported a decrease in sales tax revenue. This year, revenue is down by 18.73%, falling from $734.37 last year to $596.79. Wellman’s year-to-date revenue has decreased by 3.13%, going from $4,371.36 to $4,234.38.
According to Hegar, state sales tax collections have shown promise, likely due to businesses in the manufacturing sector proactively ordering materials to ensure delivery ahead of the tariffs announced in February and March. Hegar observed that “Collections from all sectors grew significantly compared to April 2024, exceeding the rate of general price inflation.” This positive trend stands in contrast to the downturn observed in March 2025 collections, which were down year-over-year.
Additionally, the mining sector experienced a noteworthy recovery, with collections rising by double digits compared to April 2024, representing the first positive year-over-year change in this sector in 12 months. However, it is worth noting that collections from the construction sector saw a decrease last month, indicating areas where further improvement could be targeted. Overall, these insights highlight both encouraging growth and opportunities for development across various sectors.
Retail trade has shown a modest increase compared to last year, indicating some positive movement in the sector. Notably, receipts from online shopping have surged, reflecting changing consumer preferences and the growing importance of e-commerce. However, both general merchandise and furniture stores experienced a decline in receipts, which presents an opportunity for these segments to explore innovative strategies to attract customers. Additionally, while receipts from restaurants have increased slightly, they have not kept pace with the rate of inflation for food away from home in March. This suggests that the restaurant industry may benefit from revisiting pricing strategies and enhancing value propositions to better serve their customers.
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in April 2025 was up 2.9 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58 percent of all tax collections.
Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:
- motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $405 million, down 14 percent from April 2024;
- motor fuel taxes — $339 million, up 2 percent from April 2024;
- oil production tax — $436 million, down 16 percent from April 2024;
- natural gas production tax — $233 million, up 37 percent from April 2024;
- hotel occupancy tax — $84 million, up 1 percent from April 2024; and
- alcoholic beverage taxes — $162 million, down 1 percent from April 2024.
