Cape Girardeau, county see only small drops in sales tax revenue

While Missouri is seeing sales tax collections drop statewide, in the Cape Girardeau area figures are declining only slightly.

State budget director Linda Luebbering announced in a news release Thursday that state revenue collections continue to fall below projections, with a fiscal year-to-date decrease of 12.7 percent. She's predicting fiscal year 2010 will see the largest revenue decline in Missouri history.

Meanwhile, in Cape Girardeau, shoppers are still spending at a consistent rate. Sales tax revenue collected so far in 2010 is down less than 1 percent compared to the same period last year. The city has received a total of $2,375,051 in general sales tax revenue to date for 2010, down just $2,961 from totals in March 2009.

Sales tax revenue for all of Cape Girardeau County dropped only 1.38 percent during the first three months of 2010. A total of $1.63 million has been collected so far this year, a decrease of $22,767 from this time last year. By comparison, sales tax collected statewide dropped 11 percent in January and 5 percent in February. Figures have not yet been released by the state for March.

"Compared to the state, we are doing very respectfully," said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

The diverse businesses that make up Cape Girardeau's economy help it stay solid in tough economic times, he said.

"We're not solely relying on one sector of the economy here," Mehner said. "We continue to be a regional center for medical care, education, retail shopping, restaurants and entertainment."

Geography doesn't hurt, either. Being the largest town between St. Louis and Memphis helps attract shoppers from a broader area, he said.

The statewide sales tax shortfall is forcing another $126 million in state spending restrictions, according to Luebbering.

"Even as the economy begins to rebound, state revenue growth will continue to lag for a prolonged period of time," she said in the news release.

Mehner predicts Cape Girardeau's sales tax collections will stay stable. He sees online shopping as the biggest cause of local sales tax decline.

"We know you can't buy everything here, but we ask that you see if it can be purchased here before you go on the Internet to buy. Remember, online companies aren't providing jobs here or paying taxes here," Mehner said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646