SALES TAX COLLECTIONS CONTINUE AT DOUBLE DIGIT PACE IN COUNTY

JACKSON -- Sales tax receipts for Cape Girardeau County continue to come in at a double digit pace with a third of the year's collections in.

"It still looks good and hopefully we'll stay on track for a big year," said County Auditor H. Weldon Macke, who keeps close tabs on the county's half-cent sales tax revenue.

The check for April was for $285,953, up 5.54 percent over April of 1993 and enough to keep the year total in double figures.

Receipts for 1994 total $1,267,279, which is 10.12 percent higher than the $1,150,869 that was collected for the same period last year.

After four months of 1993, receipts were running 6.25 percent ahead of the previous year.

Macke believes the high growth rate is part of a trend that began around the middle part of last year and appears to be continuing.

Total receipts for last year were 7.02 percent over 1992, but Macke believes the growth would likely have been higher had it not been for the flooding that hit the region in late summer and early fall.

"I really believe without the flood, things would have been considerably higher than the 7 percent," said Macke.

Total sales tax receipts for Cape County in 1993 came to $3.45 million.

Most of the county's general revenue budget is funded from sales tax revenue.

Macke noted that the growth is due to a variety of factors that could include a slight upturn in the economy and increased sales of cars, trucks and large ticket items like appliances.