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Sales tax revenues drop 9.4%

By ZACHARY FITZGERALD zfitzgerald@daily-review.com

November parish sales and use tax revenues fell 9.4 percent compared to 2013, but the numbers are skewed partly due to one-time remittances collected in November 2013, St. Mary Parish Sales and Use Tax Director Jeffery LaGrange said.
November sales and use tax revenues totaled $3.987 million down from the $4.146 million collected for the same month in 2013, according to a report. Excluding sales tax collections through audit, the parish received $3.718 million in sales and use tax collections, a 9.4 percent decrease from the $4.104 million collected in November 2013, the report stated.
In November 2013, the parish received remittances of more than $600,000 from four entities that did not remit anything in November 2014, LaGrange said.
“Those one time large remittances last year certainly skew the figures,” LaGrange said in an email. However, the bottom line is that collections are lower this November by 9.4 percent without audits, he said.
“Automobile collections were up slightly over last year, so big ticket items are being purchased,” LaGrange said. Department stores show an increase as well as building supplies, he said.
The decrease in sales tax revenue comes one month after revenues were up by 7.4 percent in October to end four straight months of declining revenues.
In November, the parish hotel-motel tax brought in $72,609, a 20.3 percent jump from November 2013’s $60,345, according to the report. That increase was due to a large delinquency collection in November, LaGrange said.
Morgan City’s 0.3 percent sales tax for roads yielded $82,195 for November bringing the year-to-date total to $942,198, the report stated.
The following occupational license fees were collected in November: City of Morgan City, $2,008; St. Mary Parish, $789; City of Patterson, $772; City of Franklin, $100.

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