The January sales tax report shows General Fund collections in Oklahoma City were up 7.8 percent compared to the same month last year, above the monthly projection by 4.6 percent.
The January report includes collections for the last half of November and estimated collections in the first half of December, which total about $19 million for the General Fund. That’s around $842,000 above the projection.
January is the seventh month of fiscal year 2018. General Fund sales tax revenue is 2.9 percent (about $3.6 million) above the year-to-date projection.
The January report is the ninth straight month of increased sales tax revenue compared to the same month the previous year, which follows a year-long streak of declines. Despite the recent gains, revenue this month was up only slightly from the same month in 2015.
A ¼ cent General Fund sales tax increase approved Sept. 12 by voters took effect Jan. 1. Revenue from tax collections at the new rate will be first recorded in February’s sales tax report.
The General Fund pays for the City’s day-to-day operations. Sales tax is the City’s largest single source of revenue.
The City collected around $36.9 million in total sales tax revenue during the January reporting period, including collections for the General Fund, MAPS 3, Police, Fire and the Zoo. MAPS 3 collections ended Dec. 31, and the final collections will be recorded in February’s report.
Read the full January sales tax report here.
About sales tax
The overall sales tax rate in most of Oklahoma City is 8.625 percent, and 4.125 cents of each dollar in taxable sales goes to the City. Of that, 2 ¼ cents is allocated to the City’s General Fund, one cent goes to Better Streets, Safer City sales tax projects, three-fourths of a cent is dedicated to Police and Fire, and one-eighth of a cent goes to the Zoo. The rest of the sales tax belongs to the state.
Note: Oklahoma City businesses located in Cleveland and Canadian Counties collect a slightly higher sales tax rate due to county sales tax.