Sales tax up. Restaurant tax up. Motel tax up.
Everything Columbus collects tax for showed higher numbers this January than in January 2013.
Columbus’ latest sales tax collection data shows the city received $722,096.26 in sales tax diversions from the Mississippi Department of Revenue this month. That’s a $27,664 improvement from January 2013.
Starkville and West Point collections also grew.
Starkville’s disbursement was $498,011 this month, nearly $20,000 more than last year’s same month. The total in West Point was $198,017.75, almost $18,000 more than last year.
Sales tax has a three month cycle. Retailers collect taxes one month and report them to the Mississippi Department of Revenue. Two months later, MDR distributes 18.5 percent of the collection back to each city. The numbers presented here are based on November collections.
Through the first four months of the fiscal year, the total collection is $2,185,095 for Columbus.
Starkville marks the start of its yearly collection period in January and marks its returns for the month businesses collected taxes, not the month the city received the return. This means the data attributes the $498,011 for November of last year even though it received that amount this month. Through 11 collection months, the city shows a collection of $5,306,068.87. That’s on pace to break last year’s record collection of $5,641,598.48.
West Point tabulates its yearly collection period beginning in May. Through seven months, the city has received $1,282,109.75. This marks five months straight that sales tax returns have been up, but since the groundbreaking of the Yokohama Tire Company plant in August, the increases have been larger each month. The year-to-year improvement was roughly $7,000 in October, $16,000 in November and $15,000 in December.
Columbus’ 2-percent restaurant tax for this month was $117,501.46, a $42,896.99 increase over January 2013. Those funds go to the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The motel tax collection was up $882.76 this month to $18,048.79. That money is used to maintain the Trotter Convention Center.
Starkville’s 2 percent revenues were down from this month last year. It reported $15,752.66 as collected at the cash register in November 2012 and $12,542.82 that month in 2013.
West Point’s tourism tax revenue was slightly up. It reported $18,231.63 this month last year. That number was $18,361.18 in 2014.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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