Sales Tax returns for July
Hawkins collections up 8.31% County down 9.65%

Following a particularly strong performance in June when sales tax returns were up by 29.02 percent over the same month a year ago, July has come in with an 8.31 percent increase over July 2006. Businesses in the unincorporated county, however, generated 9.65 percent less for the month than in July 2006.
 

Hawkins returns were $17,909.20 for July 2007 compared with $16,533.68 in the same month last year. Year-to date figures for Hawkins have continued an upward trend with a 13.07 percent increase through the first seven months. The unincorporated county tax collections are also ahead for the year by 8.53 percent. July returns for sales taxes represent those charged by merchants on sales made during May. The figures were released last week by the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
 

The sales tax funds are collected by local merchants, sent to the Texas Comptroller along with the state’s six and-a-quarter cents tax on each dollar of retail purchase. Hawkins’ local portion—one-and-one-half cents/dollar—is then returned two months later (May collections returned in July). Merchants in the unincorporated county areas collect a half-cent sales tax on each dollar sale.
 

The $17,909.20 in local sales taxes collected by merchants in Hawkins during May has been distributed to the two budgets supported by the sales tax, with approximately $11,939.96 deposited into the city’s general fund and the remaining $5.969.73, representing a half-cent sales tax, into the HCDC.
 

Comparative figures for sales tax returns for the month of July (as collected in May) for each city and the county follow with commentary furnished by Gary McKinley, executive director of the Wood County Industrial Commission.