In the first month of Fiscal Year 2026, Columbus and Starkville are already ahead of last year’s sales tax revenues with 2.21% growth in Columbus and 7.13% growth in Starkville compared to last October.
The cities’ budget cycle began Oct. 1. Starkville budgeted FY 2026 sales tax collections at $10.3 million, while Columbus budgeted $12 million. West Point’s budget cycle began July 1.
Sales tax diversion run on a three-month window. Taxes are collected by retailers in the first month, sent to Mississippi Department of Revenue the next and then disbursed to cities and counties the third. Therefore, October reported collections reflect sales from August.
Columbus
Columbus collected $991,485.75 in sales tax diversions this month, up from October 2024 collections of $969,967.62. This marks a 6.2% decrease in September collections of $933,556.
The city’s restaurant and lounge tax brought in $224,561.26, marking a 0.48% increase from last year’s October collections of $223,478.20. This is a 0.41% increase from last month’s collections of $223,625.00.
The city collected $35,277.28 from its motel tax this month, down 12.25% from October 2024 collections of $40,204.09. This is an 8.67% increase from last month’s collections of $32,461.
Starkville
Starkville collected $924,394 this month, up from October 2024 collections of $862,852. This marks a 34.96% increase from September collections of $684,935.
The city saw a rise this month in collections of both its restaurant sales tax diversions, which assist in funding for economic development and tourism, and its tourism sales tax, which funds the Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as parks, compared to October 2024.
Starkville collected $280,068 in restaurant sales tax diversions this month, a 0.81% increase from October 2024 collections of $277,794. This is a 22.2% increase from September collections of $229,179.
The city’s 1% hotel sales tax brought in $160,354, up 0.88% from October 2024 collections of $158,955. This is a 21.28% increase from September collections of $132,209.
West Point
West Point collected $269,511.98 in sales tax diversions this month, up 38.2% from September collections of $195,009.66. This marks a 6.01% increase from October 2024 ($254,229.22).
Year-to-date, the city has collected $895,736.55 in sales tax diversions, down 11.14% from this time last year ($1,008,067). At its current pace, the city is expected to fall short of its projected budget of $2.9 million by about $212,791.
The city’s tourism tax brought in $33,340.00 this month, a 5.5% drop from last month’s collections of $35,282.10. This marks a 6.09% increase from October 2024 ($31,424.28).
Year-to-date, the city has collected $139,777.44 from its tourism tax, up 8.57% from this time last year ($128,738.58).
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