Sales tax collections drop

Sales and use tax collections declined in St. Mary Parish during May from May 2017, but the parish sales tax director doesn’t expect that decline to start a downward trend.

In May, officials collected $2.74 million in sales and use taxes, down 12.8 percent from the $3.15 million collected in May 2017. Excluding collections due to financial audits, collections decreased just 2.7 percent.

Audit collections totaled $3,330 in May, while May 2017 audit collections were $330,529.

“It seems we have taken a small step back in collections this month,” Parish Sales and Use Director Jeff LaGrange said in an email.

“This is not what I expected nor do I expect this to continue. There seems to be lots of activity in the area and businesses are optimistic for growth,” LaGrange said.

After doing a quick analysis of some key economic sectors, LaGrange found that there was a slump in collections from retail businesses, including grocery stores, convenience stores, department stores and lumber and hardware stores.

On a positive note, automobile business collections increased 25 percent in May compared to last year, LaGrange said.

The parish’s unemployment rate has been hovering in the 6.3 percent to 6.6 percent range since the beginning of 2018.

St. Mary Parish’s unemployment rate declined to 6.5 percent in April from 6.6 percent in March. In April 2017, the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

However, in February the unemployment rate was lower at 6.3 percent, dropping from the 6.5 percent rate in January, according to statistics released earlier in the year.

The parish’s workforce totaled 19,646 in April with 18,366 people employed and 1,280 unemployed. In March, the parish workforce comprised 19,748 residents, with 18,442 people employed and 1,306 unemployed.

April sales and use tax collections totaled $3.29 million, up 4.5 percent from the $3.14 million collected in April 2017. Financial audits brought in $75,008 in April compared to the $3,100 in audit collections in the same month of 2017. Excluding collections from audits, collections rose 2.3 percent.

Hotel sales tax collections came in at $43,704, a 7.3 percent jump from the $40,718 collected in April 2017.

First quarter collections totaled $9.12 million, a 1.8 percent jump from the 2017 first quarter collections of $8.97 million. Parish officials collected $451,429 due to audits in the first quarter compared to $157,978 in 2017’s first quarter. Without audits, first quarter collections declined 2.8 percent.

During the first quarter, hotel tax collections brought in $114,364, an 8 percent increase from the 2017 first quarter collections of $105,866.

In March, officials collected $2.67 million in sales and use taxes, a 7 percent increase from the $2.49 million collected in March 2017. Financial audits resulted in $55,016 in March collections compared to $3,100 in March 2017. Excluding audits, March collections increased 4.9 percent.

Hotel tax collections brought in $40,315 during March, a 9.7 percent rise from the $36,768 in the same month of 2017.

February had a substantial increase in sales and use tax collections of $3.06 million, up 28.9 percent from the $2.38 million collected in February 2017.

Financial audits brought in $389,821 in February compared to $31,544 in the same month of 2017. Excluding collections from audits, sales and use tax collections rose 14 percent during February.

In January, St. Mary Parish sales and use tax collections totaled $3.39 million, a 17.2 percent decrease from the $4.09 million collected during January 2017.

That decrease in January was due to a nearly $1 million, onetime use collection in January 2017. The parish hotel sales tax brought in $35,422 in January, a 5.8 percent jump from the $33,467 collected in January 2017.

Morgan City’s road royalty sales tax had $59,211 in net collections in May, bringing the five-month total collected for roads to $313,631.

The following occupational licenses were filed in May: St. Mary Parish, $16,681; Morgan City, $11,590; Patterson, $4,530; Franklin, $1,199; Berwick, $1,175; and Baldwin, $156.