A Rogers official said she was pleased with a double-digit increase in sales tax revenue this month compared to last year. Other major cities in the area didn’t fare as well.
At A Glance
Sales Tax Project
The Streamline Sales Tax Project is a multistate project to standardize tax policy throughout the U.S. to get Congress to pass legislation requiring mail order and Internet retailers 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 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 months of the invoice date. Walmart files for rebates, but city officials never know when the rebate will hit.
Source: Staff Report
By The Numbers
January Sales Taxes
City20132014Percentage ChangeYTD
Bentonville$776,256$680,070 -12
Rogers$1,093,137$1,245,277*+14
Springdale$840,460$808,255*-4
Fayetteville$1,451,566$1,463,225*+0.8
Siloam Springs$225,004$247,600*+10
Bella Vista$103,915$103,188*-0.7
Lowell$188,325$234,316*+24
Source: Staff Report
Sales taxes received in January reflects November tax collected in December. 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. For the purpose of this report, NWA Media tracks the 1 percent going into general funds.
Rogers received $1,245,277 this month compared to $1,093,137 last year, a 14 percent increase , or $152,140.
“I can’t wait for next month’s figures,” said Casey Wilhelm, finance director.
“November’s number is up, and I’m hoping December will be up as well. However, we did have the snow and ice for a week that kept people off the streets and maybe out of the stores. Let’s say I’m cautiously optimistic,” Wilhelm said.
Fayetteville’s collection was up 0.8 percent compared to last year. The city received $1,463,225 this month and $1,451,566 in January 2013, an $11,659 increase.
“We were up a little, but that’s better than being down,” said Paul Becker, Fayetteville finance director. “I wish the numbers were better, but the numbers are what they are and we can’t change that. We had a good year in 2013. The combined sales tax revenue from the city and county was up 3 percent over 2012,” he said.
Like other finance directors in the area, Becker said he's concerned about December — ice and snow may have put a dent in Christmas shopping.
“You really can’t tell how shopping was last month. We’ll just have to wait and see what the numbers are next month,” Becker said.
Bentonville’s sales tax revenue dropped double digits. Sales tax was $680,070 this month compared to $776,256 last year, a decrease of $96,186 or 12 percent.
“I’m not overly concerned with the drop in revenue. We won’t get the paperwork from the state for a couple of days, but I suspect there was rebate involved,” said Denise Land, Bentonville finance director.
“We had a very good year in 2013. We budgeted for $8.7 million in sales tax revenue and collected $10.1 million. It’s early. I think things will improve,” she said.
Springdale’s revenue dropped 4 percent compared to last year. The revenue for this month was $808,255 and $840,460 last year, a $32,205 difference.
“Well, it’s disappointing to be down, but we were up the two previous months,” said Wyman Morgan, Springdale director of finance and administration.
“We collected 2.76 percent more sales tax revenue last year than we had in the budget. This year we raised our expected sales tax revenue in the budget the same amount we were over last year. I think we will collect that and maybe more. There are a lot of new jobs in the city, and those people may spend much of their money in Springdale,” Morgan said.