Vidor, Pinehurst go down in sales tax collections

Sales taxes remained strong across Orange County during July, but some entities were not collecting enough to keep up with the increase in consumer prices. The cities of Pinehurst and Vidor had decreases in collections compared to last year.

Orange County was the only entity with a sales tax that had above the July 2022 Consumer Price Index. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put the consumer price index for July 2022 at 8.5 percent more than the CPI for July 2021.

The Texas Comptroller's Office collects sales taxes and then sends the taxing entities their share. The Comptroller's Office reported the information.

The county has a 0.5 percent sales tax rate and in July collected $594,637, up 15.28 percent from the $515,812 collected in July last year. The county is now at $5.41 million for the year to date, up from 4.91 million for the year to date in 2021, an increase of 10.62.

The city of Bridge City has a 1.5 percent sales tax rate. July collections were $162,790, up 3.92 percent from the $156,642 collected in July last year. The city has $1.67 million from sales taxes for the year to date, an increase of 7.76 percent from the same time in 2021.

The city of Orange has a 1.5 percent sales tax rate. The city's income for July was $503,205, up 3.63 percent from July last year. The city has received $5.55 million for the year to date, compared to $5.12 million for the year to date in 2021, an increase of 8.39 percent.

The city of Pinehurst has a 1.5 percent sales tax rate. The city in July received $52,165, down 6.33 percent from July last year with $55,694. The city now has $504,061 for the year to date, compared to $543,281 for the year to date in 2021, a decrease of 7.21 percent.

The city of Vidor has a 1.5 percent sales tax rate. The city collected $269,100 for July this year, a decrease of 18.59 percent from last year. However, the city is only 2.14 percent down for the year to date, receiving $2.64 million this year compared to $2.69 million for the same time in 2021.

The city of West Orange has a sales tax rate of 1.25 percent. For July this year, the city collected $108,700, an increase of 4.92 percent from $103,592 in July last year. The city is stagnant for the year to date, with $1.02 million, a 1.16 percent increase from the $1.01 million for the year to date in 2021.

The Orange County Emergency Services District 3 is the only other entity in the county collecting a sales tax. The ESD is the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department. The ESD collected $23,809 in July, up from $17,703 for July last year. The ESD is now at $219,657 for the year to date, a 9.43 percent increase from the $200,726 collected for the year to date in 2021.