Sales taxes stay strong across county

Sales taxes remained strong across the county for August, even though the month had a tax-free weekend for certain school supplies and clothing.

The city of Orange has skyrocketing increases in sales taxes that may be attributed to a city effort to attract more businesses to locate there by offering city economic development grants. The city of West Orange in the November general election is asking its voters to approve a 1/4 percent sales tax to use for the same economic development grants Orange is offering.

The Texas Comptroller's Office releases the information on sales tax collections for each entity along with the calculations for the percentage changes.

Orange County has a sales tax of 0.5 percent and collected $674,016 for August this year, compared to $609,421 last year, an increase of 10.59 percent. The county has collected $6.76 million so far this year, compare to $6.05 million for the year to date in 2022.

The city of Orange with a 1.5 percent sales tax collected $756,045 for August, up from 396,111 from August 2022, a 90.86 percent increase. The city is at $8.07 million for the year to date, compared to $5.95 million for the same time last year, an increase of 35.77 percent.

West Orange has a 1.25 percent sales tax, the lowest of the cities in Orange County. The city collected $114,318 for August, up 3.20 percent from the $110,770 in August 2022. The city is now at $1.22 million for the year to date, an increase off 7.70 percent from $1.13 million last year.

Bridge City with a 1.5 percent sales tax collected $170,112 for August, up 2.94 percent from the $165,246 collected for August 2022. The city is stagnant with the year to date payment of $1.84 million, the same as last year.

Pinehurst has a 1.5 percent sales tax and continues to be down in collections. The city had $56,118 for August this year, down 4.95 percent form the $59,043 in August last year. The city is at $553,344 for the year to date, compared to $563,104 last year, a decrease of 1.73 percent.

Vidor also has a 1.5 percent sales tax. The city had $292,167 in revenues for August, a slight decrease from the $294,889 collected last year. The city is now up 6.82 percent for the year to date with $3.13 million, compared to $2.93 million last year.

Orange County Emergency Services District No. 3 is the only special district in the county with a sales tax. The district's income pays for the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department. The district has a 1.5 percent sales tax and collected $52,445 for August and is now at $277,149 for the year to date, up 13.25 percent from the same period in 2022.