Aside from lodging tax, city tax revenue slipped in November

Published 3:41 pm Thursday, December 19, 2019

According to the most recent tax numbers provided to the Selma City Council by Selma City Treasurer Ronita Wade during Tuesday’s meeting, tax revenue in the city declined between October and November, with only the lodging tax seeing a month-to-month increase.

Sales tax revenue for November came in at just over $784,728, a decrease of nearly $5,000 from October’s rate of a little more than $789,692.

The drop in year-to-year revenue is more significant – last November, the city collected just over $791,859, which shows a drop of more than $7,000 in the latest figures.

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The figure is even more startling when contrasted with October’s year-to-year sales tax figures, which improved by more than $52,000 over last year’s numbers.

Lodging tax numbers were the only ones to increase between October and November, but only slightly – November’s rate of just over $25,950 marks an increase of nearly $2,000 over last month.

Additionally, November’s numbers represent a month-to-month improvement, as well as a year-to-year improvement.

Tobacco tax revenue dropped by roughly $4,300 as compared to October’s numbers, with just shy of $24,000 being collected November and just under $28,400 coming in for October.

However, the most recent numbers do indicate a year-over-year improvement of nearly $1,500.

Revenue collected from the lodging tax surcharge, which goes toward the Brown YMCA, likewise saw a drop in both month-to-month and year-over-year figures.

The city collected just over $6,693 in November, a nearly $4,000 drop from October’s numbers and a nearly $5,000 decreased compared to the same period last year.

Half-cent sales tax revenue also took a dip between October and November, though only slightly – a decrease of roughly $620 – and saw a similar dip in year-to-year figures – a drop of less than $900.

The simplified seller use tax saw a slight decrease between October and November, with the just over $49,530 collected in November showing a decrease of just over $3,000, but has grown exponentially over last year’s figures – the city increased its seller use tax revenue by more than $37,000 as compared to last November.