Cape County sales tax revenue up from same time last year

Cape Girardeau County general sales tax and Proposition 1 sales tax revenue are up by 4 percent compared to the same period last year.

So far in 2013, $1,749,823 in general sales tax has been collected by the county, according to a monthly report circulated by Cape Girardeau County Treasurer Roger Hudson. Broken down by month, $505,810 was reported for January, $548,733 was reported for February and March's total was $695,280.

The year-to-date Proposition 1 sales tax, which supports the sheriff's department and county roads, is $1,749,498. Monthly totals reported were $505,573 for January, $548,748 for February and $695,177 for March.

The county receives and reports monthly receipts from the Missouri Department of Revenue that reflect collections from two or three prior months. The February and March numbers generally reflect holiday spending.

However, Ted Farnen, director of communications for the department, said sales tax numbers are better indicators of long-term trends than specific economic activities. When numbers are down one month, they tend to be made up the next because of a number of variables. Businesses aren't always consistent in when they send in their sales tax payments or people might put off purchases because of bad weather, he said. For example, the general sales tax numbers the county reported in January showed a 13 percent decline compared to January 2012, but February was up by nearly 23 percent.

General sales taxes collected in 2012 were $6,630,258, a gain of 2.1 percent compared to 2011. Prop 1 taxes saw a similar increase of 2.2 percent, with total collections for the year at $6,631,081.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo.