Sales tax revenue up for Cape and county, down slightly for Jackson

Sales tax revenue was up in Cape Girardeau County and the city of Cape Girardeau but declined slightly in Jackson during the first six months of this year.

Cape Girardeau County is faring better than the rest of the state, which is still lagging behind the nation in average retail sales, according to Bruce Domazlicky, director of the Small Business and Research Center at Southeast Missouri State University.

From January through June, Cape Girardeau County's general revenue sales tax brought in $3.75 million, an increase of 2.1 percent compared to the first half of 2009, according to records at the Cape Girardeau County treasurer's office.

During the same period, Cape Girardeau's general revenue sales tax generated $4.54 million, an increase of 7.3 percent from the first six months of 2009, according to city records.

Sales tax revenue in Jackson saw a small drop of 0.2 percent during the first six months of 2010, compared with the same period of 2009. A total of $1.01 million was collected in general revenue sales tax from January through June in Jackson, according to city records.

Statewide retail sales were down about 3 percent in the first quarter of 2010, compared to a year ago, Domazlicky said. Second-quarter numbers are not yet available.

"Missouri is still trying to gain some traction and seems to be recovering more slowly than the nation," he said. "As far as Cape is concerned, it's definitely doing better than the state and the nation. Retail sales have held up surprisingly well in the city and county."

For June, Cape Girardeau County saw a 10.2 percent increase in general revenue sales tax collected compared with June 2009. Cape Girardeau saw a 6.6 percent increase in sales tax collected, and Jackson saw a 4.4 percent decrease.

"Income is probably the biggest factor in determining people's spending on retail goods," Domazlicky said. "Consumers, who tend to be the main driving force in our economy, are not in a position to do a lot of discretionary spending."

mmiller@semissourian.com

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