Sales tax revenue mostly flat, unlikely to grow over last year's pace during holidays

Ahead of the 2018 holiday shopping season, sales tax revenue in Cape Girardeau County is roughly flat, and holiday sales aren�t likely to affect that much, said a county official. Online sales keep ratcheting upward, while the local tax base treads water.

County treasurer Roger Hudson said at the county level, sales tax revenue is basically flat for 2018.

�That�s what we budgeted for,� Hudson said. �Lately, that�s been fairly standard procedure.�

Hudson said online sales keep the sales tax revenue from growing, and estimated 6 percent to 8 percent of sales that could be coming into the county are instead going online, though some of that is coming in through the use tax.

Another tax collected by the county and some cities is a use tax, or a tax on out-of-state purchases.

Christmas trees and decorations are seen on display Monday inside Menards in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

At the county level, the use tax revenue is dedicated to capital improvement, Hudson said, and that�s going toward building the county�s new Justice Center, an $18 million project that�s been financed, but will need to be paid off.

Sales tax revenue in general is fair, Hudson said, but looking back to previous years when commerce and retail business were growing, sometimes increases were in the double digits.

�They used to count on a 3, 3.5 percent increase every year, and that�s not the case anymore,� Hudson said, adding, �It�s not something you can expect that it�s going to jump up.�

With the internet�s convenience and access, Hudson said, �Shopping in your pajamas is ever increasing,� and that�s money that otherwise would have been spent here.

Cape city

Christmas trees and decorations are seen on display Monday inside Menards in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer said the city�s sales tax revenue figures are looking decent for this time of year, but he�s cautious about drawing too many conclusions about trends in either direction.

�This fiscal year, we�re up a little over 4 percent since July 1,� Meyer said, adding, �That�s a good amount to be up.�

Meyer said he would caution that at this time in 2017, Cape Girardeau�s sales tax revenue was down about 7 percent.

�I wouldn�t say we�re on fire, but it�s certainly more hopeful than it was last year,� Meyer said.

Trends are hard to pinpoint with accuracy, Meyer said, as there are many variables that factor into calculations.

Christmas trees and decorations are seen on display Monday inside Menards in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

For example, if a month has five weekends instead of four, that changes the readout, he said.

One area helping Cape Girardeau�s sales tax from dropping is tourism. Dollars flow into Cape Girardeau through sports tourism � city leaders previously said attracting sports tourism dollars had been an intentional strategy for several years.

Meyer had previously told the Southeast Missourian in the run-up to an April ballot issue to fund parks and sports facility improvements, �It used to be people came here just to shop. Now they come for sporting events and conferences, and shop while they�re here.�

City officials say they don�t think the closing of Kmart will make a large dent in the city�s coffers.

�I would assume sales would be redistributed among other stores,� city finance director John Richbourg said Monday.

As to a use tax for Cape Girardeau, a measure that would have put the issue before voters has been put on hold for now, Meyer said.

Earlier this month, council members and city staff agreed to wait to see whether state lawmakers will establish a process allowing state and local governments to levy sales taxes on online purchases.

In June, a U.S. Supreme Court decision made it possible for states to pass laws requiring out-of-town sellers to collect sales taxes.

Depending on what, if any, legislation on the issue is passed in the 2019 session, Meyer has said, effects on Cape Girardeau and other cities are to be determined.

Meyer had said the council would have had to start that process in November to put a tax issue on the April ballot.

On Monday, Meyer said, �There were just so many unknowns.�

Use tax is a difficult tax to explain, Meyer said, and the Supreme Court decision�s effects have yet to be seen.

�It just seemed to be an awful lot to ask of voters, to understand, prognosticate, then apply to a local entity,� Meyer said. �The more clarity for any tax vote, I think, the better.�

Jackson�s numbers

In Jackson, the overall sales tax revenue is up nearly 1 percent over this time 2017, said city clerk and collector Liza Walker, and that�s good news.

A one-half cent public safety sales tax approved by voters in April went into effect Oct. 1, Walker confirmed, adding results aren�t available yet.

�Any sales tax collected in October would be paid to the state in November and remitted to the city in December,� Walker said.

The public safety sales tax revenue will be used to improve public safety, including improvements to officer and fire-department staffing.

Jackson does not have a use tax, Walker said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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