Cape County sales-tax revenue shows slight growth in 2016

Cape Girardeau County has experienced little growth in sales-tax revenue this year.

The county government's half-cent sales tax has generated more than $6.6 million this calendar year, an increase of 0.48 percent over the same period in 2015, county Treasurer Roger Hudson said.

"It is better than being down," Hudson said, but he added "it is lower than projected."

County officials had projected sales-tax revenue would grow by about 2.5 percent in 2016.

The weaker-than-expected revenue picture stands in contrast to a year ago. Revenue from the sales tax, which funds general operations for county government, rose by nearly 3 percent over the entire 2015 calender year, according to county financial figures.

The 2016 sales-tax data reflects the 11 monthly checks the county received from the state, which collects the sales-tax revenue for local governments.

November's check totaled more than $440,000, down almost 11 percent from the same period a year ago.

Hudson said the small increase reflects "the economy is still slow. Retail is still low."

Car sales, a major driver of sales tax revenue, are down, he said.

Still, Hudson said county government can cope with the weak growth in sales-tax revenue this year. The county has surplus funds, he said.

"It is not going to kill us. We can handle this," he said.

In addition to the half-cent sales tax, the county collects a Proposition 1 half-cent sales tax. As with the general sales tax, the county has experienced less than 0.5 percent growth in Proposition 1 revenue, financial figures show.

Much of the $6.6 million generated this year so far by that tax funds county roads and bridges and the Cape Special Road District operations. The sheriff's office also benefits from the tax.

In addition, the city of Jackson and smaller communities in Cape Girardeau County receive money from the tax.

The county also receives money from a local use tax, but that money is reserved solely for capital-improvement projects, Hudson said.

Voters narrowly approved the 1 percent use tax in April 2015 to finance new court facilities in Jackson. County commissioners said they planned to stockpile tax revenue from the use tax before embarking on new construction.

Cape Girardeau County government has garnered more than $857,000 from the use tax this year. The November check totaled nearly $100,000, up nearly 11 percent from the same month a year ago.

The use tax is levied on out-of-state purchases in lieu of a sales tax.

The growing use-tax revenue reflects the rise in internet sales, as more and more consumers buy items online rather than in local stores, Hudson said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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