Northwest Arkansas Cities Top $1 million In Sales Tax Revenue

Sales tax revenue for July was a chart-buster for the four major cities in Washington and Benton counties with revenue in each city topping more than $1 million.

Bentonville was the leader with a 23.9 percent increase in sales tax this month compared to the same period last year. The city received $1,010,915 this month compared with $816,090 for July 2013, an increase of $194,825.

By The Numbers

July Sales Taxes

City*2013*2014*Percentage Change

Bentonville*$816,090*$1,010,915*+23.9

Rogers*$1,177,850*1,328,447*+12.8

Springdale*$907,096*$1,024,501*+12.9

Fayetteville*$1,505,136*$1,572,558*+4.5

Siloam Springs*$240,822*$277,787*+15.3

Bella Vista*$118,233*$153,515*+29.8

Lowell*$295,047*$279,754*-5.2

Source: Staff Report

At A Glance

Sales Tax Project

The Streamline Sales Tax Project is a multistate project that seeks to standardize tax policy throughout the United States in an effort 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 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 months 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

"I suspect there may be a rebate in my future, but for now I'll take the money and run," said Denise Land, Bentonville finance director.

"Seriously, I'm very pleased with the sales tax revenue for July, although I'm not sure where it came from. For the year, we are at more than 60 percent of the sales tax revenue budget. We are averaging about $833,000 a month in sales tax revenue, and I budgeted for $750,000 per month. We are trailing a little behind last year, but remain in great financial shape," Land said.

Springdale's sales tax revenue for the month is $1,024,501, compared with $907,096 for the same period last year, an increase of $117,405 or 12.9 percent.

"Did you say $1 million?" asked Wyman Morgan, administration and finance director for Springdale. "That's within 2 percent of the best number we've had since 2006. We are on target as far as the budget is concerned, in fact we're a little bit ahead of budget. We are up 3 percent for this 12-month period compared to the previous 12-month period."

Rogers trailed Springdale by a tenth of a percentage point with an increase of 12.8 percent over sales tax revenue last year. The city received $1,328,447 this month compared with $1,177,850, an increase of $150,597 over July 2013.

"As long as our sales tax revenue continues to climb over the previous year, I have no complaints," said Casey Wilhelm, city finance director.

"I budgeted $14 million in sales tax revenue, and we are on track to make that number this year. Everything is in good shape for the year," Wilhelm said.

Fayetteville collected $1,572,558 in sale tax revenue this month compared with $1,505,136 for the same period last year, an increase of $67,422, or 4.5 percent.

"July was a solid month for us," said Paul Becker, Fayetteville finance director.

"I'm happy with an increase of 4.5 percent. We've been basically flat this year, except for a couple of negative months. Counting the county and city sales tax, we are about $93,000 down for the year, but I think we can make that up by the end of the year," Becker said.

Bella Vista and Siloam Springs sales tax revenues were up double percentage points for the month, but Lowell dropped a few percentage points compared to July 2013.

Sales tax received in July reflects May sales tax collected in June. Comparisons are based on collections 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.

NW News on 07/22/2014

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