Sales tax revenue is up in Terry County and across the state.

by Eric

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the state sales tax revenue on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, which totaled $4.1 billion in November and is up 3.7% more than in November 2022. The majority of November sales tax revenue is based on sales made in October and remitted to the agency in November.

Here is how the cities and the county in Terry County did. The City of Brownfield is again up in sales tax revenue bringing in $188,068.05 for November 2023. Last November (2022) the revenue was $147,291.45 which is an increase of 27.68%. For the year-to-date status, sales tax revenue is up 11.16% bringing in $1,571,580.83 compared to $1,413,694.26 last year. Terry County is looking good again as it brought in $86,663.12 for November which is a 49.59% increase from $57,931.28 from last November. The County’s year-to-date sales tax revenue also increased from $654,837.52 to $778,296.75 which is an 18.85% increase.

Moving on to the smaller communities. The City of Meadow had a small decrease in November 2023 bringing in $2,302.99, a 1.27% decline from last year in November which was $2,332.69. Although a decrease from this time last year, the City of Meadow still has a good year-to-date outlook. The City is up 406.42%. The current year-to-date revenue is $94,636.91 compared to the year-to-date revenue in 2022 which is $18,687.21. For the City of Wellman, their November 2023 sales tax revenue is up 82.93% from $401.48 to $734.46. Wellman’s year-to-date also continues to grow. The year-to-date is up 32.89% from $5,691.64 to $7,564.14.

“State sales tax revenue growth resumed in November, after slightly declining on an annual basis the previous month,” Hegar said. “Remittances from sectors driven by business spending were mixed — receipts from the mining and construction sectors rose significantly from a year ago levels, while receipts from the manufacturing sector declined slightly. Receipts from the wholesale trade sector dropped significantly — the seventh decline from prior year levels in the last eight months.”

Hegar said, “Remittances from the retail trade sector were again down overall, with the largest declines from home improvement centers and furniture and home goods stores. Receipts from big box general merchandisers, as well as mall-based department and specialty stores, were down from a year ago levels for a second consecutive month. But receipts from online merchants increased, as internet shopping continues to gain market share from physical stores.”

Also according to Hegar, the service sector receipts increased significantly, propelled by spending for concerts, sporting events, and fitness clubs. Receipts from restaurants were up just slightly from a year ago, at less than the rate of inflation for food away from home.

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in November 2023 was up 2.1 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 57 percent of all tax collections.

Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:

  • motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $561 million, up 7 percent from November 2022;
  • motor fuel taxes — $327 million, down 1 percent from November 2022;
  • oil production tax — $575 million, up 1 percent from November 2022;
  • natural gas production tax — $211 million, down 48 percent from November 2022;
  • hotel occupancy tax — $74 million, up 2 percent from November 2022; and
  • alcoholic beverage taxes — $152 million, up less than 1 percent from November 2022.

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