Sales taxes mixed in cities, but strong in county

Sales taxes were mixed across the county in September as cities were having a difficult time keeping up with the inflation rate. However, Orange County's sales taxes continue to stay above the inflation rate, which was 8.2 percent for the month of September.

The Texas State Comptroller's Office recently sent the payments to entities with sales taxes.

Orange County has a 0.5 percent sales tax and received $641,893 for the month, an increase of 10.66 percent from the $580,038 for September 2021. The county is now at $6.69 million for the year to date, up 11.61 percent from the $5.99 million for the year to date last year.

Bridge City, with a 1.5 percent sales tax, was down slightly in September this year compared to last year, but remains up for the year to date. The recent payment was $222,450, down 2.94 percent from the $229,215 in September last year. The city is at $2.06 million for the year to date, up 6.22 percent from $1.94 million for the year to date in 2021.

Orange has a 1.5 percent sales tax and was up in both categories. The city received $828,125 for September, an increase of 15.84 percent from the same month last year. The city now has $6.77 million for the year to date, compared to $6.35 million for the same period last year, an increase of 6.61 percent.

Pinehurst, with a 1.5 percent sales tax, was down in both categories. The city collected $56,451 for September, down from $62,945 in September last year, a decrease of 10.3 percent. The city now has $619,555 for the year to date, a decrease of 5.32 percent from the $654,385 collected for the year to date in 2021.

Vidor is also down, though slightly, in both categories. The city has a 1.5 percent tax rate and received $345,526 for September, down 0.8 percent from $348,641 last year. The city now has $3.28 million for the year to date compared to $3.29 million for the same period in 2021, a decrease of 0.41 percent.

West Orange has a 1.25 percent sales tax, the lowest of the cities in the county. The city received $114,970 for September, down 5 percent from the $121,085 collected for September last year. The city is up 1.13 percent for the year to date with $1.252 million compared to $1.238 million for the year to date in 2021.

County Emergency Services District 3 for the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department is the only special district in the county with a sales tax. The district has a tax rate of 1.5 percent and collected $26,137 for September, compared to $23,323 last year. The district is up 11 percent for the year to date with $270,855 compared to $243,796 last year.