Sales tax revenue in Bentonville and Springdale peaked with double-digit increases this month, while Rogers’ revenue was up slightly and Fayetteville experienced a decrease of less than 1 percent.
Sales tax revenue delivered in September reflects July sales tax collected in August.
AT A GLANCE
Sales Tax Project
The Streamline Sales Tax Project is a multi-state project that seeks to standardize tax policy throughout the United State in an effort to get Congress to pass legislation require mail order and Internet retailer to charge sales tax. Rebates are part of the Streamline Sales Tax Project.
Before Jan. 1, 2008, county and city taxes throughout Arkansas were only charged on the first $2,500 of any single invoice. That cap no longer exists for individuals because of the project requirements. However, the cap still applies to businesses’ purchases through a rebate from the Department of Finance and Administration. The business owner must pay the sales tax, then file for a rebate within six month of the invoice date. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, files for rebates, but city officials never know when the rebate will hit.
Source: Staff Report
Comparisons are based on collection from the same month in the previous year. Each city, with the exception of Bella Vista, collects a 2 percent sales tax. One percent is devoted to repaying bonds. The other 1 percent goes into each city’s general fund and is available for operations. For the purpose of this report, NWA Media tracks the 1 percent going into general funds.
Bentonville sales tax revenue for September is 10.5 percent higher than the same period last year. The city received $844,390 this year compared with $764,485 last September, an increase of $79,904.
“We are up 13 percent over last year in city and county sales tax revenue, and that makes me happy,” said Denise Land, Bentonville’s chief financial officer.
“We budgeted $725,000 per month is city sales tax revenue and we’ve been getting around $800,000 per month. We will probably continue to underestimate our sales tax revenue next year. I would much rather have a better than expected collection than have to explain why we missed our budget,” Land said.
Springdale received $901,976 this month compared with $830,681 for the same period last year, an increase of $71,294 or 8.6 percent.
“We’re doing pretty well this year. Our sales tax revenue has been up eight of the past nine months. It appears things are turning around for Springdale,” said Wyman Morgan, Springdale’s director of finance and administration.
“I think Springdale is going to show some real growth in the near future. We have a new Walmart Supercenter that’s going in on the west side of town and other new businesses are either open or getting ready to open. We can use the extra money for the fire stations we are going to build next year,” Morgan said.
Sales tax revenue in Rogers have been on a steady increase for more than year, and the trend continued this month. The city will receive $1,118,067 in sales tax revenue compared with $1,094,478 received in September last year, an increase of $23,589 or 2.15 percent.
By The Numbers
Sales Tax Revenue
City-Sep-t. 2012-Sept. 2013-Percentage-YTD 2012-YTD 2013
Bentonville-$764,485-$844,390-+10.5-$6,911,629-$7,086,786
Fayetteville-$1,466,886-$1,465,609--0.08-$12,931,432-$13,400,631
Rogers-$1,094,478-$1,118,067-+2.15-$9,789,408-$10,906,720
Springdale-$830,681-$901,976-+8.6-$7,581,148-$7,841,148
Bella Vista-$114,323-$115,638-+1.15-$961,542-$1,010,425
Lowell-$229,731-$327,471-+42.5-$1,947,445-$2,045,184
Siloam Springs-$227,304-$248,874-+9.5-$2,175,992-$2,409,307
Source: Staff Report
“Sales tax revenue has been more than $1 million for more than 16 months, so I think our our sales tax revenue will continue to bring in $1 million each month, at least I hope so,” said Casey Wilhelm, Rogers’ chief financial officer.
“We are up more than $800,000 over last year at this time, and on track to make budget. We expect to reach $13,150,000 in sales tax revenue this year. We are a little more than $2 million away from that goal, but I think we will make it,” Wilhelm said.
Sales tax revenue in Fayetteville dipped slightly, down $1,276 from the same period last year. The city will receive $1,465,609 in sales tax revenue, compared with $1,466,886 in September 2012, a decrease of 0.08 percent.
“I would have liked to see our sales tax higher this year than last, but it stayed pretty flat,” said Paul Becker, Fayetteville’s chief financial officers.
“I know sales tax revenue can’t go up all the time. Summer is kind of an adventure for us. Many of the college students are way for the summer, which may play a part in our slightly lower tax revenue this month,” Becker said. “We are up 4 percent for the year and I’m very happy with that and not concerned about this month’s figures.”
Lowell had the largest jump in the two-county area, with revenue up 42.5 percent over the same period last year.
Siloam Springs, which has had some down months this year, saw a healthy increase of 9.5 percent over the same period last year.
The Arkansas State Revenue office in Little Rock does not disclose individual businesses sales tax collections, which makes it difficult to pinpoint why double-digit increases are received. The Streamline Sales Tax Project may lead to rebates in some cities at a later date.