A slight rise in St. Mary Parish sales and use tax collections during 2017 showed what may be the beginning of a gradual economic turnaround for the region.
Officials collected $35.37 million in sales and use taxes in 2017, up 0.4 percent from the $35.24 million collected in 2016, according to the latest report. A total of $671,232 was collected during 2017 as a result of financial audits compared to the $969,653 collected in 2016.
Excluding audits, collections rose 1.2 percent from 2016 to 2017.
The parish hotel sales tax brought in $490,660 during the year, a decrease of 3.2 ...