Oklahoma City February sales tax summary shows 6.4 percent boost over last year
Published: March 6th, 2018
The February sales tax report shows General Fund collections in Oklahoma City were up 6.4 percent compared to the same month last year, below the amended monthly projection by 2.9 percent.
The February report includes collections for the last half of December and estimated collections in the first half of January, which total about $19.3 million for the General Fund. That’s around $568,000 below the amended projection.
February is the eighth month of fiscal year 2018. General Fund sales tax revenue is 2.1 percent (about $3 million) above the amended year-to-date projection.
The February report is the tenth 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 down 4.1 percent from the same month in 2015.
A ¼ cent General Fund sales tax increase approved Sept. 12 by voters took effect Jan. 1. This is the first sales tax report showing revenue with the new tax rate. The impact of the new tax rate is limited for the February report because it’s only for half of January, and many retailers pay estimated taxes based on taxes from the same month last year.
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 $37.4 million in total sales tax revenue during the February reporting period, including collections for the General Fund, MAPS 3, Police, Fire, the Zoo and Better Streets, Safer City. MAPS 3 collections ended Dec. 31.
Read the full February sales tax report here (https://okc.gov/home/showdocument?id=10550).
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.
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