The July sales tax report shows General Fund collections in Oklahoma City were up 21.5 percent compared to the same month last year, above the monthly projection by 4.3 percent.
The July report includes collections for the last half of May and estimated collections in the first half of June, which total about $21.7 million for the General Fund. That’s around $889,000 above the projection.
July is the first month of fiscal year 2019. General Fund sales tax revenue finished fiscal year 2018 3.6 percent (about $7.9 million) above the amended projection.
The July report is the 15th straight month of increased sales tax revenue compared to the same month the previous year, which follows a year-long streak of declines.
A ¼ cent General Fund sales tax increase approved Sept. 12 by voters took effect Jan. 1. This is the sixth sales tax report showing revenue with the new tax rate. The higher sales tax rate contributed to the growth in General Fund revenue. The underlying growth in sales tax excluding the higher rate was about 8 percent for July.
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 $39.8 million in total sales tax revenue during the July reporting period, including collections for the General Fund, Police, Fire, the Zoo and Better Streets, Safer City.
Read the full July 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.