On Tuesday, April 3, 2025, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced that the state’s sales tax revenue for March totaled $3.68 billion, representing a 2.7% decrease compared to March 2024. It is important to note that the majority of the sales tax revenue for March is based on sales made in February, which are then remitted to the agency in March.
The City of Brownfield experienced a decline in sales tax revenue for March 2025, generating $121,602.34 compared to $136,651.10 in March 2024. This reflects an 11.01% decrease. However, the year-to-date revenue remains positive, showing an increase of 9.78%, with total revenue at $474,645.15 compared to $432,325.99 at the same time last year.
Both small cities in Terry County experienced a decline in sales tax revenue. The City of Meadow saw a decrease of 17.46%, dropping from $1,689.38 in March 2024 to $1,394.36 in March 2025. Unlike Brownfield, Meadow’s year-to-date revenue also declined by 2.52%, bringing in $5,974.10 compared to $6,128.81 from the same time last year. The City of Wellman also faced a drop in revenue, reporting $773.30 for March 2025, which is 22.31% less than the $995.44 collected in March 2024. However, Wellman’s year-to-date revenue showed a slight increase of just 0.01%, rising by $0.60 from $3,636.99 to $3,637.59.
Terry County has reported a significant increase in sales tax revenue this month. The revenue rose by 8.10%, climbing from $53,592.13 in March 2024 to $57,935.19 in March 2025. Additionally, the County’s year-to-date revenue has also seen an increase of 4.36%, totaling $201,943.77 compared to $193,500.98 at the same time last year.
According to Hegar, State sales tax collections experienced a year-over-year decline for the first time since April 2024. Collections fell across all major business-related sectors, including the retail sector, which accounts for the largest share of sales tax revenue. Within the sectors primarily driven by business spending, there were notable decreases in construction, manufacturing, and wholesale trade. Specifically, receipts from the construction sector dropped by double digits compared to March 2024. Remittances from the wholesale trade sector also saw significant declines, while collections from the manufacturing sector decreased moderately. On a positive note, receipts from the information sector increased again in March, largely due to computer and data processing services.
Remittances from the consumer-driven retail trade sector decreased compared to last March, with nearly all subsectors reporting lower totals for March 2025. Remittances from grocery stores remained largely unchanged, while collections from electronic shopping experienced a slight increase. Although receipts from restaurants grew compared to last year, they did not keep pace with the rate of inflation for food consumed away from home in February. Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in March 2025 rose by 2.8% compared to the same period a year earlier. Sales tax is the largest source of funding for the state budget, accounting for 58% of all tax collections.
Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:
- motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $541 million, up 35 percent from March 2024;
- motor fuel taxes — $293 million, down 3 percent from March 2024;
- oil production tax — $425 million, down 10 percent from March 2024;
- natural gas production tax — $288 million, up 36 percent from March 2024;
- hotel occupancy tax — $58 million, down 8 percent from March 2024; and
- alcoholic beverage taxes — $138 million, down 1 percent from March 2024.
