City Sales Tax Revenues Increase, County Drops

Image
Body

After a rough start at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Cordell’s city sales tax collections have bounced back to show an increase at the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

According to reports from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the City of New Cordell collected $80,512 in April 2020, $87,966 in May, and $98,975 in June. For the same three months in 2019, the city collected $70,128, $65,868, and $63,209, respectively.

While the total sales tax collections did increase in each of the three months from 2019 to 2020, the 2020 numbers include the additional one-cent tax overwhelmingly approved by Cordell voters late last year. Adjusting the 2020 numbers to reflect the tax rate change, Cordell’s tax revenue actually decreased in April 2020 as compared to the previous year.

In April 2018 the city collected $55,059, which jumped to $70,128 in April 2019. In April 2020 the city received $80,512 in sales tax revenue, but with one quarter of the sales tax earmarked for Cordell Memorial Hospital, the actual amount going into city coffers was just $60,384.

May’s activity has been slightly higher and more consistent over the three year span. The city collected $60,174 in 2018 and $65,868 in 2019. In 2020, total sales tax receipts were $87,966, adjusted down to $65,974 to reflect the tax rate change.

June’s numbers, however, buck those trends. Collections increased from $58,258 in 2018 to $63,209 in 2019, and then skyrocketed to $98,975 in 2020, despite the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Even after adjusting for the tax rate change, the city’s take was $74,231, and increase of more than $10,000 over the same month in the previous year.

Washita County’s sales tax collections have historically fallen between April and June, and 2020’s numbers have followed that pattern.

In 2018, the county collected $144,074 in sales tax. That number dropped to $131,762 in May and all the way to $115,975 in June. In 2019, the numbers were higher but followed a similar pattern. In April, collections were $172,292, rising to $177,341 in May before falling to $161,833 in June.

In 2020, April’s receipts were $173,318, but rose to $180,955 in May. June saw a marked drop, with a total of $160,929.