San Marcos Record, San Marcos, TX

June 13, 2009

City fares well in new sales tax report

By Anita Miller

San Marcos — Compared to the state as a whole, the city of San Marcos is faring well when it comes to sales taxes rebated by the State Comptroller’s Office.

Though returns for the month were 3.9 percent lower than a year ago statewide, San Marcos saw a gain of 10.92 percent.

In figures released Friday, Comptroller Susan Combs said the state collected $1.77 billion on sales tax revenue in May, which represents a 5.2 decrease over taxes collected a year ago.

She blamed the continuation of a depressed economy.

“Weakness throughout most sectors of the economy resulted in a significant decrease in May sales tax collections,” she said, adding that in year-to-date payments, revenues are still down .05 percent compared to the first six months of 2008.

Here’s a further breakdown:

• San Marcos: Monthly rebate $1,385,868.03, up 10.92 percent from $1,249,396.64 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $9,080,555.71, down 2.32 percent from $9,296,371.81 last year. San Marcos’ tax rate is 1.5 percent.

• Buda: Monthly rebate $252,007.01, up 3.99 percent from $242,334.34 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $1,637,956.98, down 1.28 percent from $1,659.250.76 last year. Buda’s tax rate is 1.5 percent.

• Dripping Springs: Monthly rebate $62,208.52, down 10.5 percent from $69,533.70 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $361,726.81, up 7.64 percent from $336,047.62 last year. Dripping Springs’ tax rate is 1.25 percent.

• Hays City: Monthly rebate $899.53, down 39.10 percent from $1,477.26 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $6.925.69, down 13.71 percent from $8.026.83 last year. Hays City’s tax rate is one percent.

• Kyle: Monthly rebate $191,340.72, up 5.13 percent from $181,922.68 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $1,260,650.68, up 15.73 percent from $1,089,225.54 last year. Kyle’s tax rate is 1.5 percent.

• Mountain City: Monthly rebate $263.45, up 1.21 percent from $260,30 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $2,190.69, down 2.64 percent from $2,250.31 last year. Mountain City’s tax rate is one percent.

• Niederwald: Monthly rebate $1,873.87, up 3.96 percent from $1,802.38 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $10,962.52, up 2.26 percent from $10,720.09 last year. Niederwald’s tax rate is one percent.

• Uhland: Monthly rebate $3,394.25, up 31.90 percent from $2,573.29 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $18,699.10, up 27.24 percent from $14,695.38 last year. Uhland’s tax rate is 1.5 percent.

• Wimberley: Monthly rebate $40,090.32, down 2.21 percent from $40,999.94 in May 2008. Year-to-date total is $304,045.70, up 9.13 percent from $278,604.25 last year.