Texas sales tax revenues climb by 9.4%

Texas saw its sales tax collections rise again in December, with revenue of $2.17 billion, an increase of 9.4 percent over the same month last year, the state comptroller’s office said Wednesday.

It was the 33rd consecutive month in which sales tax revenue has increased, according to data from the comptroller’s office.

Sales tax is an important source of revenue, paying for a number of state services, from schools to prisons. The sales tax figures represent mostly sales made in November.

“Strong sales tax collections continue in most major economic sectors in Texas,” Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said in a statement. “The strongest growth was from business spending-driven sectors including oil and natural gas, manufacturing and construction.”

The comptroller’s office said it will distribute $530.8 million in allocations this month to cities, counties, transit systems and taxing districts, a 7.3 percent increase over January 2011.

Most Central Texas cities saw their sales tax allocations increase over the same month last year, according to data from the comptroller’s office.

Austin’s allocation rose to $12.55 million, a 7.34 percent increase over last year, while Round Rock’s allocation was up 11.1 percent to $5.89 million. Elgin (19.6 percent), Kyle (16.7 percent) and Pflugerville (16.2 percent) all saw their allocations rise by more than 15 percent over the same month last year, according to data from the comptroller’s office.

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